Game To Watch: #2 Notre Dame at Boston College, November 14, 2020

Notre Dame and Boston College will play one another this Saturday at 3:30. The Irish are 7 – 0 overall and coming off a huge win over Clemson last week. Boston College is 5 – 3 and playing much better under new head coach Jeff Hafley. Notre Dame is now in the drivers seat to make the ACC championship game and would need to lost two of their last four games and have Clemson and Miami win out to have a chance to miss the title game. Boston College has three losses in conference and has little chance to make the ACC title game at this point.

Recent History

Notre Dame has dominated the recent games between the two teams, winning seven straight games against Boston College. The last two games came in 2017 and 2019, but neither was particularly close, Notre Dame won by 29 and 33 points respectively. Of course those games came before Jeff Hafley took over and the Eagles have played a lot better in his first season.

Top Players

What To Watch For…

How will Phil Jurkovec fare against his former team?

Phil Jurkovec was a top 100 recruit who committed to Notre Dame as part of the 2018 recruiting class. In two seasons with the Irish he attempted just 18 passes and transferred to Boston College with the hope of seeing more playing time. So far that decision has paid off for Jurkovec, he is the starting quarterback for Boston College and has had a good first season with the team. Through eight games, Jurkovec has completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 2,083 yards with 15 touchdowns against just 4 interceptions, he has also run for 96 yards and 3 touchdowns. That’s all wonderful, but the game against his former team will matter more to Jurkovec, and his former team will understand his strengths and weaknesses better than any other opponent. It will be interesting to see if Jurkovec will make his former team regret losing him, or if Notre Dame can keep him and the Boston College offense contained.

Will Notre Dame’s offensive line dominate the game?

Notre Dame has as complete and talented an offensive line as there is in the country. All five starters are among the best at their position and have been the foundation for the team’s success this season. The offensive line has paved the way for Kyren Williams and the running game to average 227.7 yards per game and over 5 yards per carry. When Notre Dame throws the ball, they have protected Ian Book allowing just 13 sacks in 7 games. The Irish are coming off a strong offensive performance against Clemson in which they ran for 209 yards and passed for 310 yards. Boston College will need to find a way to slow down the running game and disrupt Ian Book in the passing game if they want to keep the Notre Dame offense in check. Jeff Hafley is one of the brightest defensive minds in college football, but with the way Notre Dame’s offensive line has been playing they will be tough to stop.

Could Notre Dame suffer a let down after last week’s big win?

Every coach will tell their team that each game counts the same. The focus and preparation need to be the same every week, but it’s human nature to get amped up for a big game, and to possibly lose some intensity after a big win. Notre Dame will face that challenge this week as the team is coming off a huge win at home against Clemson and will now face Boston College on the road. The Irish are a veteran team with a quarterback and offensive line that have a lot of experience and should be able to maintain their focus and lead the way. Boston College is not a pushover, the team has played well and two of their three losses have been by one score or less, including a six point loss against Clemson two weeks ago. If Notre Dame comes out flat Boston College has the ability to beat them.

Prediction

Notre Dame is an 11.5 point favorite against Boston College. The Irish have a talent advantage against the Eagles, but Boston College has only lost by double digits once this year. The Eagles will be ready for the challenge of playing Notre Dame and should put up a good fight. In the end, the talent gap will be too great for Boston College to overcome, but this will not be an easy win for the Irish. Notre Dame 31 Boston College 24.

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NCAA Football: Boston College at Clemson image taken by TigerNet.com is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.