Boston College vs. Notre Dame Odds, Picks, and Predictions (11/19/2022)
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In a traditional matchup between two teams that play just about every year, the Boston College Eagles head to South Bend, Indiana to face off against rivals Notre Dame Fighting Irish in week 12 of the College Football season. Boston College enters this game 3-7 in a pretty mediocre season, but they are fresh off this a win against No. 16 ranked North Carolina State 21-20. Can they grow on that momentum to rally off two wins against ranked teams in a row?
Notre Dame started off slow this year with new coach Marcus Freeman falling to a disappointing 3-3 start, but have been able to rally off four wins in a row and have gotten to a nice groove as of late. That streak featured over 16th ranked Syracuse and 4th ranked Clemson and in both games the Irish looked dominant. Can they continue their hot streak against the Eagles and former Irish QB Phil Jurkovec? Let’s get into this game’s pick and predictions:
Boston College vs. Notre Dame Betting Odds
To no surprise, Notre Dame enters this game as heavy favorites in this one. At home, they are moneyline favorites at -1700. Notre Dame are big favorites to no question, but where to focus would be the spread line. Notre Dame is currently -21 spread line favorites which would have them winning by three touchdowns. Notre Dame started this season as a defensive first team that wins in close games, but as of late they have won by big margins which makes sense why the line is so far. They were able to beat Clemson by 21 points in which many thought Clemson could have been a College Football Playoff team.
Notre Dame QB Drew Pyne has been great in recent games. He has thrown for 18 TDs this season after starting this season as a backup before QB Tyler Buchner got hurt. Boston College lost 31-3 against Clemson and lost 45-15 against Wake Forest. If they want to stay close in this game, they need to play like they have in recent games as they upset NC State and only lost to Duke by a touchdown 38-31.
The over/under total is currently 43 points for this game. Notre Dame is currently averaging 29.7 PPG for the season while Boston College is averaging 19 PPG. Notre Dame also allows 22.3 PPG while Boston College has been allowing 28.8 PPG.
Boston College vs. Notre Dame Picks & Predictions
My pick: Boston College +21 (-112)
I think Notre Dame wins this game big, don’t get me wrong, but 21 points is a lot for a team that has been known to play down or up to their competition. I think Boston College will be able to get some points on the board to keep from losing by three touchdowns and see them losing closer to 14 or 17 points altogether.
Notre Dame has been on a hot streak, but this team also fell to Marshall and Stanford in games where the Irish were expected to win big. These two teams are also not that different when it comes to yards average.
Notre Dame is averaging 374.7 yards per game with the Eagles averaging 321 yards per game. In yards allowed, Notre Dame is averaging 331.6 yards with the Eagles averaging 366.3. Notre Dame certainly has been on a hot streak but Boston College comes into this game off a big win, so no the Eagles will not win but I think they will at least keep it within three TDs.
I like the over in this game as I think 43 is a low total in which I think both of these teams can score in this game. Notre Dame has been hot offensively so if they can score 30 or higher and if Boston College can get close to 20, I see no reason the over shouldn’t hit.
Key Matchup
Phil Jurkovec vs. Notre Dame Preview
The matchup to watch for will be Boston College QB Phil Jurkovec vs. the Notre Dame Defense. Phil Jurkovec started his career at Notre Dame as a backup to Ian Book before transferring to Boston College. This has not been the best Jurkovec season as he has thrown for 11 TDs and 8 INTs. He has also split time with QB Emmett Moorehead. In the past couple games, Moorehead has been playing with Jurkovec out but Jurkovec is expected to start this Saturday. If he does, he will have his work cut out for him against his former team. Notre Dame Defense averages 193.8 passing yards allowed per game. They also have six INT takeaways on the season. Jurkovec will need to be on his A-game as he returns to South Bend to take on his former team to keep this game close for the Eagles to cover.
