Notre Dame’s defense walks into this Boston College matchup with real momentum, and the timing could hardly be better. After smothering Miami, Chris Ash’s group now gets an Eagles offense that has had trouble finding the end zone against quality opponents. If the Irish stay sharp, this has the feel of a game where the defense can keep dictating terms.
The Miami performance gave Notre Dame plenty to build on. The Irish held the Hurricanes to three points in the first half, their lowest output since October of 2023, and came up with stops at the biggest moments while also forcing turnovers against a team that usually protects the football well. That kind of showing matters here because the challenge this week is different, but the opportunity is the same: keep the pressure on and make the offense uncomfortable.
Boston College has not been putting up much offense against teams that can match up physically. The Eagles scored 14 points against Virginia Tech, 16 against SMU and two against Duke.
Quarterback Mason McKenzie is a capable player, but the Irish have already seen better passers this season. Boston College leans on letting him play street-ball, and that approach has worked against teams like Main, Rutgers and Georgia Tech.
It did not work against Virginia Tech, SMU or Duke, and Notre Dame’s defense should be in position to make that formula look even shakier.
The biggest thing for the Irish is simple: don’t get loose with the details. This is a game where discipline, focus and aggression should travel together. If Notre Dame keeps its eyes where they belong and plays with the same downhill edge it showed against Miami, Boston College will have a hard time sustaining drives.
The turnover battle could tilt this one quickly. Boston College ranks 109th nationally in turnovers lost with 14 and 113th in interceptions thrown with nine.
Notre Dame sits 6th in the country in turnovers gained with 18. That gap is hard to ignore, and it gives the Irish a clear path to separate if McKenzie and the Eagles keep putting the ball in harm’s way.
Up front, the edge belongs to Notre Dame in a couple of key spots. Boubacar Traore was one of the biggest reasons the Irish beat Miami 31-24, consistently pressuring Darian Mensah and making two crucial stops against the run in the first half.
Now he draws right tackle Kristian Phillips, who has had a rough year in pass protection. Phillips has allowed a team-high 23 pressures and eight hits plus sacks on the quarterback, while Traore leads Notre Dame with 29 total pressures and 11 hits plus sacks on the quarterback according to PFF.
That is the kind of matchup the Irish should expect to win.
Inside, Tionne Gray has a chance to keep rolling. The 6-5, 327-pound defensive tackle is lined up against Boston College center DJ Williams, a 6-2, 300-pound blocker who has allowed 16 total pressures and four hits plus sacks on the quarterback this season.
Gray was at his most dominant and consistent against Miami, and Notre Dame needs that version of him again. The former Oregon defensive tackle has to show he can stack strong performances, especially against a lesser opponent.
Bryce Young is another name to watch after his bounce-back game against the Hurricanes. The junior defensive end looked like a game-wrecker last weekend and now gets a different kind of test against 6-9, 315-pound left tackle Veguer Jean-Jumeau, who has allowed 14 total pressures and six hits plus sacks on the quarterback. Unlike the Gray-Williams battle, Notre Dame does not have the size edge here, but Young still has a chance to keep building momentum heading into Senior Day against SMU.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Independence Suddenly Looks Smarter Than Ever
The College Football Playoffs move from 12 teams to 24 starting next year has already sent a ripple through the sport, and it has only sharpened the appeal of Notre Dames long-standing independence. As the Autonomy 4 conferences move to eliminate their championship games, the old arguments about needing a league title to secure a playoff spot suddenly look a lot different, especially for a program that has never depended on a conference structure to define its path.
Wake Forest coach Jake Dickert and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz have both publicly raised questions about whether conferences still matter in the same way under the new format, and that kind of debate is exactly the sort of thing Notre Dame has been insulated from for years. With schools like Miami also weighing what these changes mean for conference affiliation and structure, the Irish find themselves in a familiar but newly relevant position: outside the system, yet perhaps better positioned than ever to benefit from it. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Gets Big Wins, A Fresh Freeman Hint And Heartbreak
A busy stretch around Notre Dame delivered plenty to talk about, starting with hockey, where Sammy Nelson scored twice and buried the overtime winner in a 3-2 upset of No. 4 Michigan State. The Irish have now won three straight, and freshman goalie Patrick Quinlan kept the surge going with 33 saves for his third consecutive victory, a strong sign that the team is finding real traction at both ends of the ice.
The momentum carried into mens basketball, where Ethan Roberts poured in a career-high 36 points and matched the program mark for made 3-pointers in a game during a 99-59 rout of South Carolina State. On the football side, Marcus Freeman offered an encouraging update on young cornerbacks Khary Adams and Ayden Pouncey while also leaving the door open on Brauntae Johnsons recovery, even as the program was also dealing with the sudden passing of broadcaster Dan Hicks. [Read more 🡒]
Former Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman Is Headed For A Very Different Spotlight
Sam Hartmans football path has taken another unexpected turn, this time far from the practice field. The former Notre Dame quarterback, now on the Washington Commanders practice squad, has been announced as the new star of ABCs "The Bachelor" for its 30th season, adding a very different kind of attention to a player who was already familiar to Irish fans from his stops at Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
For Notre Dame followers, it is one more reminder that Hartmans post-college life is unfolding in unusual fashion. He is still attached to Washington as a practice squad quarterback, but his next major public role will come on television when the new season of "The Bachelor" premieres in March, putting him in a spotlight that has little to do with football and everything to do with prime-time exposure. [Read more 🡒]