by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Nov 15, 2022
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN
Where to watch: Peacock/NBC
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Notre Dame -21
FanDuel: Notre Dame -20.5
BetMGM: Notre Dame -21
Caesars: Notre Dame -21
Season record
Boston College: 3-7
No. 20 Notre Dame: 7-3
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Boston College - Notre Dame preview, analysis and prediction
Last week
Boston College: won 21-20 at No. 16 NC State
Notre Dame: won 35-32 vs. Navy
Where was this Notre Dame team all year? Maybe it did take the Fighting Irish a little bit more to get out of the starting gate, perhaps more than it should’ve, but Notre Dame is No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings and will likely find themselves in a better bowl game than anticipated prior. How does the Holiday Bowl sound? That might be fun.
Where was this Notre Dame team all year? Maybe it did take the Fighting Irish a little bit more to get out of the starting gate, perhaps more than it should’ve, but Notre Dame is No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings and will likely find themselves in a better bowl game than anticipated prior. How does the Holiday Bowl sound? That might be fun.
But Notre Dame returns home for one more tune-up before the biggest game of its season, with a home finale against the 3-7 Boston College Eagles. And in case you’re wondering how much of a tune-up this is, Notre Dame faces USC next week. But the Irish can’t look too far ahead against a BC team that is coming off a 21-20 upset win over the depleted NC State Wolfpack last time out.
The Irish were staring at a crossroads after their 16-14 loss to Stanford at home on Oct. 15. The season already seemed loss for coach Marcus Freeman. Notre Dame may have gotten their mojo back after a win against UNLV because that followed with an impressive win at Syracuse, a shocking 21-point win over Clemson, and then last week’s 35-32 win over Navy at M&T Bank Stadium that was highlighted by a one-handed catch-of-the-year candidate from Braden Lenzy.
That was one of Drew Pyne’s four touchdowns on 17 of 21 passing for 269 yards, and Jayden Thomas reeled in 80 yards and a score on three catches in a game that was seemingly over at halftime. The Irish led 35-13 at half before Navy went on a late fourth-quarter run.
"One thing you know about Navy is they'll never quit," Freeman said. "We had to match their urgency throughout the entirety of the game. We did the first half. We did not have the urgency and the execution that we needed to finish the game the way we wanted to."
But the bottom line is that Notre Dame finished the job and got the win. If this was a back-and-forth game like the others before it, maybe the Irish are on the outside looking in and not ranked this week. But Notre Dame has found the right groove at the right time, especially on defense. That’s perfect timing going against a Boston College team that scores just 19 points a game and has only 321 yards of total offense per contest.
Offense surely wasn’t the calling card for Boston College last week, but it got enough offense from quarterback Emmett Morehead for the Eagles to pull off the biggest win of the program’s season, knocking off NC State 21-20 by way of a game-winning touchdown pass to Joseph Griffin Jr. with 14 seconds remaining. Morehead threw for330 yards and three touchdowns. Boston College somehow won the game with minus-1 rushing yard. That would be a negative-uno.
"Two-minute drills end up deciding a lot of games," Morehead said. "It's just executing your job. Guys making plays across the board."
Prediction
Bravo to Boston College for putting up that kind of effort against NC State, but Notre Dame is humming right now to the point where that 21-point spread is looking good for the Irish. The defense has been great the last month, and against a one-dimensional offense like this, it’ll be over by the third quarter. Notre Dame by 27
Betting trends
Notre Dame is 8-1 ATS in November the last three seasons.
Notre Dame is 8-1 ATS after winning 4 or 5 out of 6 the last 3 seasons.
Notre Dame is 8-1 ATS through weeks 10-13 in the last three seasons.
Notre Dame is 16-30 ATS at home after two straight games of committing one turnover or less since 1992.
Statistical leaders
Boston College:
Passing: Phil Jurkovec -- 1,711 yards, 11 TD, 8 INT
Rushing: Pat Garwo III -- 296 yards, 2 TD
Receiving: Zay Flowers -- 921 yards, 10 TD
Notre Dame:
Passing: Drew Pyne -- 1,547 yards, 18 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Audric Estime -- 711 yards, 9 TD
Receiving: Michael Mayer -- 647 yards, 7 TD
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Boston College Eagles - Notre Dame Fighting Irish prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily college football projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
