2017 Notre Dame Football Opponent Spring Review: Boston College
Boston College (Sept. 16)
Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 14-9.
Last Meeting: In its Shamrock Series game on Nov. 21, 2015 at Boston’s Fenway Park, the 9-1 Irish eked out a 19-16 victory over a Boston College team that would finish 3-9.
2016 Record: 7-6
Boston College’s Rivals Class Rankings 2013-17: No. 89 (2013), No. 43 (2014), No. 49 (2015), No. 82 (2016), No. 67 (2017)
Notre Dame’s Rivals Class Rankings 2013-17: No. 3 (2013), No. 11 (2014), No. 11 (2015), No. 13 (2016), No. 13 (2017)
Projected Starters Returning: 15 (eight on offense and seven on defense)
Post-Spring Storyline
Fixing an anemic offense: The Eagles won their final three games of the 2016 season to finish 7-6, making the Quick Lane Bowl and losing to Maryland.
The problems stayed the same for Boston College in 2016, centering on a stagnant offense that averaged just 20.4 points per game, which ranked 118th in the country.
Getting better quarterback play could go a long way toward solving those issues.
Redshirt junior Darius Wade and redshirt freshman Anthony Brown split the reps throughout the spring. Wade is a left-hander, Brown a 6-foot-1, 210-pound dual-threat.
Whoever fifth-year head coach Steve Addazio chooses to run the offense, the Eagles will have a fourth new starting quarterback to begin the season in the past four years.
Along the offensive line, the Eagles should be much better than recent years, bringing back four starters with experience. Last year’s group allowed a miserable 2.15 sacks per game and rushed for just 3.4 yards a carry. For a pro-style, run-first offense, those numbers have to improve if Boston College wants to compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference.