Getty The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on Boston College Saturday. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Boston College Eagles (5-5) will head to Notre Dame Stadium to face the Fighting Irish (8-2) Saturday.
It will be the final home game of the season for the Irish, and they’ve won 17 in a row at Notre Dame Stadium. The Eagles need one more win to attain bowl eligibility, so this game is huge for them. They have lost four of their last six games, however, so they’re not on a hot streak entering this matchup.
Who will come out on top in this one? Here’s a breakdown of the game followed by trends and our prediction.
Notre Dame
Quarterback Ian Book has been excellent this season, throwing for 2,293 yards, 26 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Book has also been hot as of late. He had five touchdowns and no interceptions last week against Navy, and the week before against Duke, he had 139 yards rushing. He is going to be difficult for Boston College to stop.
On defense, the Irish are giving up 19.3 points a game, and they have the nation’s fifth-best passing defense, but they have struggled against the run at times. They’ll need to tighten up against Boston College, who have a two-headed monster in their backfield.
Another thing to consider: Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has had nothing but success against the Eagles–he is 5-0 against Boston College.
Boston College
The Eagles are led on offense by Dennis Grosel, a former walk on who took over this season when starting quarterback Anthony Brown went down with a knee injury. Grosel had a slow start, but has seen an uptick in performance over the last few weeks. He is 28-39 for 422 yards and five touchdowns with one interception in his last two starts.
Grosel will lean heavily on A.J. Dillon, the nation’s third-leading rusher, who has 1,451 yards on the season. Dillon is joined in the backfield by David Bailey, who has tallied 760 yards rushing so far this year. Together, they could do some damage against a Notre Dame defense that has been hit or miss against the run this season.
Trends, Pick and Prediction:
Spread: Eagles +20.5
Over/Under: 64 points
Odds Shark currently have the Fighting Irish winning the game by a projected score of 43-25, with Boston College covering the spread and the total score going over.
The following relevant trends surrounding the game are courtesy of Odds Shark:
* Boston College is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games.
* The total has gone OVER in 5 of Boston College’s last 5 games.
* The Eagles are 2-4 SU in their last 6 games.
* Boston College is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games against Notre Dame.
* The Irish are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games.
* The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Notre Dame’s last 13 games.
* Notre Dame is 6-1 SU in their last 7 games.
* The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Notre Dame’s last 8 games against Boston College.
We’re with Odds Shark on this one. Boston College has a very solid running attack, and they should put some points on the board. Notre Dame should win, but take Boston College with the points.
Final Prediction: Notre Dame 45, Boston College 27
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