Notre Dame (1-3) at Boston College (2-1)

Boston College. The only other Catholic university that plays FBS-level football. So why do we hate them with every fiber in our being?

BC is 2-1 and fresh off a 19-0 shutout home lose to Virginia Tech. The Eagles defense stood up pretty well to the Hokies, as it usually does, but it was BC’s offense that let the locals down. Running back Montel Harris was serviceable and maybe even a little better than that (19 carries for 111 yards), but QB Dave Shinskie struggled. Turnovers, poor decision-making, etc., etc. So much so that BC Head Coach Frank Spazianai has benched Shinskie, the 26-year old ex-minor league baseball player we were introduced a year ago, in favor of true freshman Chase Rettig. Rettig, highly recruited out of San Clemente, CA, enrolled in January and went through spring ball but the plan was that he would be red-shirted this season. Apparently his red shirt comes off against the Irish on Saturday night.

IFP has been tough on the Irish defense of late, and justifiably so, but in all fairness Notre Dame put their defense in rough spot after rough spot last weekend vs. Stanford. The gold hat offense mustered no real semblance of a running game (44 total yards rushing) and managed only one FG off three Stanford turnovers. But what probably killed the Irish more than anything was how they struggled converting third downs. When you only go 3 for 14 on third down, you’re probably asking too much from your defense. Notre Dame HAS to take advantage of muffed punt returns by the opposition, interceptions, and they have to move the chains on 3rd down. The Irish picked Andrew Luck off twice last Saturday and he only threw 4 INTs all last year.

After watching the replay, we are backing off on Dayne Crist…a little. He probably has never been hit in his life like he was hit in the Stanford game. #10 was on the turf 4 times in the first half alone. He wasn’t nearly as accurate as he needs to be (24 for 44), but he did throw for 304 yards. We think some kind of running game, or at least the threat of a running game, would make Crist’s life a little easier. The Irish offensive line was consistently beaten on the line of scrimmage by the Stanford defensive line. Tough to lose that battle but still win the war.

The Chestnut Hillers have become known for being tough to score on of late, ranking in the Top 20 in points against the last 6 straight years. And IFP believes the strength of this BC team is likewise their defense. The VaTech game would have been much more interesting if the Eagle offense made a few plays at key moments; the 19-0 score was misleading. Notre Dame is going to have to get back to a little more unpredictability on offense, sharing the ball in the passing game, and make Armando Allen more of a contributing threat out of the backfield. Defensively? Pressure the frosh. The Irish need to take a lesson from Stanford, who won last weekend in Notre Dame Stadium because they were the more physical football team. Darius Fleming and Ethan Johnson, in particular, need to consistently pressure Retting off the edge and force a few ill-advised throws. And once those turnovers come, Notre Dame needs to capitalize. Settling for FGs early in this one could be a recipe for problems in the wanting minutes, we think.

Notre Dame 20 – Boston College 17