Some Irish Bloke
Five foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'
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Boston College (3-7) @ #18 Notre Dame (7-3)
Line: Notre Dame -20.5
Notre Dame Stadium; Notre Dame, IN
Saturday, November 19, 2022
2:30 PM EST
NBC/Peacock
Votes are public. Poll closes on Saturday, 11/19 at 1:40 PM ET.
Notre Dame is coming off of a roller coaster victory over Navy in which they looked unstoppable in the first half, followed by perhaps the most frustrating second half of football any of us have watched in quite some time (Marshall and Stanford included). Notre Dame collapsed on both sides of the ball and almost allowed the Naval Academy to come back from a 22 point halftime deficit. Boston College, meanwhile, launched an impressive, hard fought comeback effort of their own last week in Raleigh, trailing 17-7 at the half but beat the 16th ranked NC State Wolfpack 21-20.
This may not be the Phil Jurkovec return we were all expecting as he's been battling injuries all year behind a porous offensive line (more on that shortly). Jeff Hafley didn't commit to naming a starter this week, but last week he emphatically told the media that Phil was the starter once he became healthy, only to witness redshirt freshman Emmett Moorehead throw for 330 and 3TD, 2INTs to lead the comeback charge against the Wolfpack. This week, Hafley was very much tongue in cheek about his QB position, but certainly appears to have walked back his commitment to Phil just a week ago. He did mention that Moorehead is getting more work in the 2 minute offense, which suggests that the talented, albeit green, QB will get his third straight start. It is worth noting that both of his INTs occurred in the red-zone, which suggests that 1) he can move the offense regularly but 2) that's a bad, bad look not protecting the football in the scoring area.
Boston College boasts one of the worst OLine units in the entire country, as evidenced by their dead last (!) ranking in rushing offense at a measly 61.4 YPG. The formula to beating them isn't difficult; if you slow down Zay Flowers (921 yards, 10TDs), BC's offense struggles. Now, this is easier said than done; the dude is a bonafide stud and a legitimate Sunday talent. He's the key to this offense's motor, plain and simple, and became BC's all time receiving leader last week at NC State, with a 130 yard, 2 TD effort.
*Friendly reminder that this is also a homecoming for TE George Takacs, who they also use primarily as a blocker similar to ND. He does have okay receiving totals with 248 yards and 1TD on the year. Welcome back, George.
Defensively, BC tends to give up scores early in the game and then bunker down and improves as the game settles in. Last week, they gave up two scores on NC State's opening possessions and then gave up only 6 points the final 45 minutes. This has been somewhat of a trend. They rank 54th in total defense, but only 82nd against he run, which bodes well for the Irish on a cold, windy day. Look for a heavy dose of Estime and Diggs in this one. They are a respectable 43rd in the nation against the pass.
Altogether, hopefully Senior Day and a lookahead date with the Trojans in LA next week doesn't make for a sleepy start and bumpy ride for the Irish on Saturday. I'm expecting the crazy, unforeseen close call against Navy will have the men's attention to take care of business against a little brother "rival" and they play well on both sides of the ball.
Notre Dame 27, Boston College 10.
Line: Notre Dame -20.5
Notre Dame Stadium; Notre Dame, IN
Saturday, November 19, 2022
2:30 PM EST
NBC/Peacock
Votes are public. Poll closes on Saturday, 11/19 at 1:40 PM ET.
Notre Dame is coming off of a roller coaster victory over Navy in which they looked unstoppable in the first half, followed by perhaps the most frustrating second half of football any of us have watched in quite some time (Marshall and Stanford included). Notre Dame collapsed on both sides of the ball and almost allowed the Naval Academy to come back from a 22 point halftime deficit. Boston College, meanwhile, launched an impressive, hard fought comeback effort of their own last week in Raleigh, trailing 17-7 at the half but beat the 16th ranked NC State Wolfpack 21-20.
This may not be the Phil Jurkovec return we were all expecting as he's been battling injuries all year behind a porous offensive line (more on that shortly). Jeff Hafley didn't commit to naming a starter this week, but last week he emphatically told the media that Phil was the starter once he became healthy, only to witness redshirt freshman Emmett Moorehead throw for 330 and 3TD, 2INTs to lead the comeback charge against the Wolfpack. This week, Hafley was very much tongue in cheek about his QB position, but certainly appears to have walked back his commitment to Phil just a week ago. He did mention that Moorehead is getting more work in the 2 minute offense, which suggests that the talented, albeit green, QB will get his third straight start. It is worth noting that both of his INTs occurred in the red-zone, which suggests that 1) he can move the offense regularly but 2) that's a bad, bad look not protecting the football in the scoring area.
Boston College boasts one of the worst OLine units in the entire country, as evidenced by their dead last (!) ranking in rushing offense at a measly 61.4 YPG. The formula to beating them isn't difficult; if you slow down Zay Flowers (921 yards, 10TDs), BC's offense struggles. Now, this is easier said than done; the dude is a bonafide stud and a legitimate Sunday talent. He's the key to this offense's motor, plain and simple, and became BC's all time receiving leader last week at NC State, with a 130 yard, 2 TD effort.
*Friendly reminder that this is also a homecoming for TE George Takacs, who they also use primarily as a blocker similar to ND. He does have okay receiving totals with 248 yards and 1TD on the year. Welcome back, George.
Defensively, BC tends to give up scores early in the game and then bunker down and improves as the game settles in. Last week, they gave up two scores on NC State's opening possessions and then gave up only 6 points the final 45 minutes. This has been somewhat of a trend. They rank 54th in total defense, but only 82nd against he run, which bodes well for the Irish on a cold, windy day. Look for a heavy dose of Estime and Diggs in this one. They are a respectable 43rd in the nation against the pass.
Altogether, hopefully Senior Day and a lookahead date with the Trojans in LA next week doesn't make for a sleepy start and bumpy ride for the Irish on Saturday. I'm expecting the crazy, unforeseen close call against Navy will have the men's attention to take care of business against a little brother "rival" and they play well on both sides of the ball.
Notre Dame 27, Boston College 10.
