Notre Dame Defensive Keys to Victory vs Boston College

Notre Dame will look for its third straight win today when it hosts the Boston College Eagles. The 8-1 Fighting Irish will look to improve their College Football Playoff resume, which will require Notre Dame to dominate. That should be the case, especially if the Irish defense plays the way it could and should against a struggling Boston College offense. Notre Dame holds a talent and statistical advantage in this matchup, but if the Irish are going to handle Boston College the way they are expected to, the defense will need to thrive in four key areas.

1. Be Focused - Notre Dame is coming off its biggest win of the season, if not the biggest regular season win of the Marcus Freeman era in South Bend. It's impossible to expect the Notre Dame defense to come out with the same focus we saw against Miami, because it's impossible to replicate the environment and magnitude of the game. But that doesn't mean they can't still be locked into the importance of this game and play strong football.

This begins with the coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash can make sure this group is locked in by calling another game that allows this defense to attack. Notre Dame's defense is much, much better when the group is turned loose and they can play downhill. That means letting the defensive line attack, allowing the secondary to be aggressive and not choosing to play a passive game plan against a mobile quarterback. If Ash has a game plan that turns this group loose you can expect them to be more locked in and ready to dominate.

Of course, the players have to do their part as well. That means playing hard, taking the fight to BC, being physical and of course playing disciplined football. That means being assignment correct and also not making some of the silly penalty mistakes we saw in last year's game against Boston College.

2. Shut Down The Run Game - Boston College ranks 113th in passing offense, 114th in passer rating, 97th in yards per pass attempt and 120th in completion rate. Boston College has thrown for 10 touchdowns but been picked off nine times this season. This game plan should be simple, shut down the Boston College run game and force them to beat you with the passing game .... which they can't do if Notre Dame is focused and coached well.

In their four wins this season, Boston College has averaged 209.5 yards per game on the ground and topped 150 yards in three of those games. In its five losses, BC has averaged just 131 yards per game and has not once averaged over 5.0 yards per carry. Notre Dame has the 10th best rush defense in college football from a yards per carry standpoint (87.1) and the defense ranks 11th in yards per attempt (2.87). This should be an area where Notre Dame feasts, and if they do Boston College should struggle to move the ball and score.

3. Pressure Mason McKenzie - That could change if Notre Dame can't keep quarterback Mason McKenzie from making plays with his legs. McKenzie leads Boston College with 676 rushing yards and he's tied for the team lead with five touchdowns on the ground. He's top 100 yards on the ground twice this season and has three more games with over 70 yards. He'll also make plays with his arm when he's on the move, whether it's getting out of the pocket or avoiding pressure and climbing the pocket.

If Notre Dame shuts down McKenzie this offense has zero chance to score enough to stay in this game. In the past, Ash has chosen to defend mobile quarterbacks with a more passive game plan, and that was especially true in the disappointing loss to BYU. He can't make that same mistake against Boston College. Ash needs to allow his defense to attack McKenzie and dominate a below average BC line. Maybe he sneaks out a couple of times, but the constant pressure will result in sacks, hits on the quarterback, rushed passes and should allow the defense to dominate. 

4. Get The Ball - McKenzie has been picked off eight times on 229 passes this season, and he was picked off 11 times in 2025 at Saginaw Valley State. Boston College has also put the ball on the ground 12 times this season. If the defense is turned loose the ball will get put in play, and when that happens the Irish need to go get it. If Notre Dame's defense can give its offense short fields this game will be over by halftime.

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