Boston College vs. Notre Dame: Final Thoughts And Predictions

Can BC hang in there in the latest installment of the Holy War?

By A.J Black@AJBlack_BC Sep 15, 2017, 10:00am EDT

NCAA Football: Wake Forest at Boston College

Two coaches, both on the hot seat, which can pull of the win Saturday afternoon in front of what most likely will be a packed house at Alumni Stadium. No matter how bad BC is playing there is a certain tangible feeling in the air when ND comes to town. I can remember Chestnut Hill rocking when they came in 2012, when expectations were absolutely zilch, so I expect nothing less tomorrow. BC clearly has a lot to work on, including mind melting turnovers, questionable play calling and porous offensive line play. Anthony Brown has a big game ahead of him, and Harold Landry needs to show that he can be a game changer. There is a lot to watch out for this week. So let’s take a look.

Keys To Victory

Crisp Line Play: There were so many mistakes over the first two weeks that I could write a whole post about it. Oh look I did! Penalties, botched snaps, missed assignments, if BC can’t drastically cut down on these mistakes they are going to get destroyed by the Fighting Irish
Cut Down On Mistakes: This was my key for last weekend’s game, and as we saw that was a major problem for the Eagles. Against NIU they made mistakes, against Wake they got worse. Notre Dame is too good to be starting on the BC end of the field every down.
Have Brown Move Ball With Legs If Nothing Is There: There were definitely a few times last week we saw Anthony Brown look down field and move the ball with his legs instead of throwing it away. He’s got good speed, if nothing is there and he can safely grab a handful of yards do it.
Consistent Tackling/ Stay True To Option Assignments: Brandon Wimbush is a mobile QB and one that may cause BC fits, especially the way they have played over the past two years. We have seen two teams use the option effectively against BC, mostly because players were out of position. That can’t happen against ND. Also, don’t miss tackles.
Score more than 21 points: Can they do it? Who knows.

Beer of the Week:

My Non-IPA Beer of the Week: Half and Half (Guinness and Harp Lager). The standard Guinness has been used multiple times on this post, so with a game against the Irish coming up, I had to switch it up a little. The Half And Half is simple, take Harp (an Irish Lager) pour it, and top it with Guinness. There are multiple variations you can make as well including Black Velvet (Guinness and Magners Cider) and Black Moon (Blue Moon and Guinness).

Absolutely Necessary Rap Song Of The Week

Kanye West- Champion. Picked this one as a shout out to all the classic rock heads out there. Steely Dan founder Walter Becker died this week, who whether you like their style or not was one of the most influential artists in rock history. Champion by Kanye West samples Kid Charlemagne by Steely Dan, so it gets my vote. Please let BC play like champions this weekend....

AJ’s Power of Positivity Thought Of The Week:

Boston College kept it close against Notre Dame in 2012 and 2015 and those were much weaker teams than this one. And Brian Kelly isn’t a very good coach. So what I am saying is, there’s a chance.

Pregame Food Of The Week-

Calzones. What beats taking your favorite cheeses, veggies (I guess) and meats and throwing them in a pizza crusts? Nothing, that’s right. My mother in law makes a killer calzone with ham, salami and a crap load of cheese. Probably not good for the ole ticker, but it’s tailgating season, who cares?

Fire up that BCI Prediction Machine: Coach was the only one who picked Wake, so he gets the point and the lead in our contest.

Coach JF (2): Notre Dame 30 BC 13

Matt O (1): My young naivety gives the Eagles a chance with Brown bouncing back and Landry dominating Mike McGlinchey in a battle of future first round picks. 27-24 Eagles

Grant: ND 37 BC 3. Sadness

AJ Black: 45- 10 Notre Dame. Yeah, I think this is the game where the wheels completely come off for BC.

Arthur B: I want to believe they could do it. I really do. 42-3 Irish

Eric H: BC 24 ND 20 Addazio gets to puff his chest after a huge win

Laura B: