Notre Dame Football vs. Boston College: Preview, predictions, live stream

Notre Dame football travels to play Boston College for Week 3. Can the Fighting Irish rebound against the seemingly overmatched Eagles?

With his seat warming once again, Brian Kelly and Notre Dame would benefit greatly from beating up on their fellow Catholics this weekend. Meanwhile, Boston College pulling off an upset would be a big win in what might be a brutal season.

Notre Dame (1-1) had the hype train rolling after their first game of the season. Their new starting quarterback looked like a star in the making. Sophomore Brandon Wimbush Threw for two touchdowns and rushed for 106 yards and another touchdown. The Irish romped to a 49-16 win over Temple and moved into the Top 25.

Week 2 was a different story. Wimbush came crashing back down to earth completing just 19 of 39 passing attempts for 211 yards. He did record a rushing touchdown but ended up with only one yard net on the ground. A late field goal pushed Georgia over the top 20-19. After the game, things got worse. Kelly got snippy with a reporter once again which compounded the media firestorm that was already coming because of the loss.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football

Boston College (1-1) is coming off a loss in their ACC opener to Wake Forest 34-10. Steve Addazio’s team was doomed by four turnovers. The Eagles’ redshirt freshman quarterback struggled in his first conference game. Much like Wimbush, Anthony Brown led BC to a win in his debut but last week the bright lights caught up with him. He threw three interceptions and completed just 11 of 29 passes.

Notre Dame and Boston College last played two years ago at Fenway Park in Boston. The Eagles played them tighter than they had any right too, but the fifth-ranked Irish held on to win 19-16.

Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Boston College Eagles game:

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Chestnut Hill, MA
Venue: Alumni Stadium
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Notre Dame has a solid game plan already laid out for them by Wake Forest. John Wolford completed 13 of 19 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 92 yards and a touchdown against Boston College. Wimbush is a more dynamic runner than Wolford, so as long as he can match the Demon Deacon’s efficiency and ball security he should have a good day. On the defensive side, Brown like almost all freshman is turnover prone. Forcing him to speed up and make mistakes and then capitalizing when he makes them is an easy win.

Addazio is still going with Brown even though he struggled. Junior Darius Wade, who came in to relieve Brown in the Wake Forest game, will return to his backup role. The young quarterback did not have a good day but he didn’t get any help from his receivers. Two of his three interceptions could have been caught by his team. The bottom line is whoever is in there can’t turn the ball over. When the Eagles almost pulled off the upset in Fenway, the Irish turned over the ball five times to the Eagles’ one. It won’t take that big of a discrepancy to beat a less talented team, but it will be close.

Prediction

Boston College has one of the tougher schedules in the country. They play in a division that was arguably the best in the country before Deondre Francois went down for the year. If they are going to get bowl eligible for the fourth time in Addazio’s tenure, they can’t afford to lose many home games. Unfortunately, this one isn’t going to help them.

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The Irish should take care of business as 13-point favorites. I could see the Eagles hanging around into the fourth quarter, and the Notre Dame side getting a bit nervous. If they don’t pull this one out, Kelly shouldn’t bother getting on the plane back to South Bend.

Final Score: Notre Dame 31, Boston College 20