Notre Dame has wrapped up their final bye week of the season and are now geared up to face the Boston College Eagles on the road for the first time in five seasons. The Irish enter this matchup riding a five-game win streak and are now the No. 12 ranked team in the country. The Eagles are looking to pick up their first win since week one and break the seven-game losing streak they're currently riding. This hasn't been the season many Boston College fans imagined they'd see in year two of the Bill O'Brien era; their loss last week to Louisville knocked them out of bowl contention. Despite their record, this is still a team with talent on the offensive side, and Notre Dame's defense needs to continue building on their turnaround. Here are the three biggest storylines, two key battles and a player to watch in tomorrow's matchup inside of Alumni Stadium.
Three Biggest Storylines
1. Aggressive Tendencies Have To Remain - This defense looks completely different than the unit we saw take the field against Miami, Texas A&M and Purdue. That's a good thing. After allowing 27 points to Miami, 41 to Texas A&M and 30 to Purdue, the Irish haven't allowed an opposing team to score more than 24 points in four straight games. Arkansas, Boise State and NC State were held scoreless in the second half and USC was held scoreless in the fourth quarter in a tight ball game. The philosophy shift on defense helped increase their disruptive rate; Chris Ash's defense is generating more pressure on the quarterback resulting in significantly more turnovers. This trend will have to continue against Boston College, and if it does, the Eagles will struggle moving the ball on this unit
2. Continue Forcing Turnovers - In the last four games, the defense has generated 12 turnovers. They had two turnovers against Arkansas, four against Boise State, three against NC State and three against USC. Most have been interceptions; Notre Dame currently ranks No. 3 in the country in interceptions with 13 on the season. On the other side of the ball, Boston College is prone to turning the football over. They rank No. 120 in the country in turnovers lost with 14 on the season. O'Brien made the shift at quarterback from Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan to Grayson James who played for O'Brien last fall. Both quarterbacks have three interceptions on the season and James is coming off a two-interception game against Louisville.
3. Nickel Corner Will Be Tested...Again - Every week, it seems like we are talking about Notre Dame's nickel corner going up against an opposing team's slot receiver. Well, here we are against and one of DeVonta Smith or Dallas Golden will be matched up with Boston College's best receiver, Lewis Bond. Bond is a 5-11, 195-pound slot receiver who is, by far, the Eagles' go-to target on offense. He has 56 receptions on the season for 547 yards and one touchdown. There's a heavy emphasis on offense to get the football into Bond's hands and I expect to see more of that tomorrow. Whichever nickel is on Bond will have to play assignment correct, tackle well in space and eliminate the big plays
Two Key Battles
1. Notre Dame Defensive Line vs Boston College Offensive Line - This Eagles offensive line has struggled this season. They rank No. 127 in the country in both rushing yards per game and rushing yards per carry. They also rank No. 112 in the country in sacks allowed. Notre Dame's defensive line has done a better job getting after the passer the last couple of weeks, but have yet to significantly increase their tackle for loss numbers. Creating negative plays in the run game and finishing plays on the quarterback will be something the Irish defensive line will have to excel in against this Eagles' offensive line. As an offense, they've allowed 85 pressures through seven games this season and 21 of those have resulted in sacks.
2. Tae Johnson vs Jeremiah Franklin - Tight end Jeremiah Franklin is the second go-to target in this Boston College offense. He has 31 receptions on the season two touchdown receptions. Out of his 31 receptions, 18 of them have gone for first downs. Notre Dame safety Tae Johnson has played an integral role in the turnaround in the Irish secondary and he'll be tested, at times, against this weekend against Franklin. The 6-3, 244-pound tight end currently averaging seven targets a game; Johnson will have his opportunities to make plays on the football, but he'll have to ensure he remains a sure-tackler against a tight end who has seven missed tackles forced on the season.
One Player To Watch: Cornerback Leonard Moore
This isn't a discussion on if cornerback Leonard Moore will play well. This conversation is more matchup based. He'll be matched up routinely with Boston College's biggest receiver Reed Harris who is 6-5, 217-pounds and is a big play threat. Last season, Harris averaged 28.6 yards per catch on 17 receptions. This season, Harris leads the team in touchdown receptions with three and averages 16.3 yards per catch. He isn't quite the big play threat he was a season ago, but he's by far their biggest (physically) weapon on offense. This is also the biggest wide receiver Moore has been matched up against this season. Harris has good vertical speed and size; it will be a good test for Moore as he continues to build on his stellar sophomore season.
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