BC Facing 16th-Ranked Irish, Hoping To Become Bowl Eligible With Win At Notre Dame
Boston College (5-5) at No 15 Notre Dame (8-2, No. 16 CFP), Saturday at 2:30 p.m. EST (NBC).
Line: Notre Dame by 20.
Series record: Notre Dame leads 15-9.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
Winners of three straight, Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish need victories over the Eagles and Stanford next week for a third consecutive 10-victory season and still have an outside shot to play in New Year's Six bowl. Steve Addazio's Eagles, who are coming off 38-31 home loss to Florida State, need to win either Saturday or in an Atlantic Coast Conference season finale at Pittsburgh to become bowl eligible for sixth time in seven seasons.
KEY MATCHUP
The resurgent Irish offense vs. the struggling Eagles defense. After rallying with a late drive to edge Virginia Tech 21-20 with his 7-yard TD run, Irish quarterback Ian Book has thrown for nine touchdowns, five to wide receiver Chase Claypool, and rushed for 170 yards in victories over Duke (38-7) and Navy (52-20). Boston College, meanwhile, is 98th nationally in scoring defense (32.1 points per game), 125th in pass defense (302.3 yards per game) and 128th in total defense (486.9 yards per game).
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Boston College: Running back AJ Dillon. The 6-foot, 250-pound junior ranks third nationally with 1,451 yards and 10th with 13 rushing touchdowns. He has two 200-yard games — 242 against Syracuse and 223 vs. North Carolina State. Two seasons ago, the Irish held Dillon to 58 yards on 16 carries in a 49-20 victory at Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Notre Dame: Middle linebacker Drew White. The 6-foot, 230-pound junior had six solo and four assisted tackles, one quarterback hurry and one fumble recovery as the Irish held Navy, the nation's top rushing team, to just 281 yards in a 52-20 victory. White leads the Irish with 65 total tackles, including eight for losses.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Irish, who have won 17 straight games at Notre Dame Stadium, seek to close out a second straight unbeaten season (7-0) at home. … Legendary Irish coach Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53) was 20-2 as head coach at Boston College (1939-40). … This is 25th game in the series that began with 17-3 Irish victory in 1975 at since-demolished Schaefer Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The next meeting was at the 1983 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee where Irish won 19-18 over Eagles team featuring 1984 Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie.
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