This is the most glaring mismatch. Put it this way: Last year Boston College finished eighth in the country in rushing with a 253.2 average, led by the tandem of the dynamic and powerful AJ Dillon and David Bailey — yet it managed a meager 123 yards at Notre Dame during a 40-7 defeat. Dillon had only 56 yards on 14 carries, and Bailey 26 yards on 10 attempts.

This year, Dillon is in the pros, the offensive line is not as strong, and there is a new identity with a different coaching regime. Among the 123 Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams ranked, Boston College is 110th with a 106.6 rushing average per contest.

Meanwhile, after limiting all-time ACC leading rusher Travis Etienne to 28 yards on 18 carries last (seven tackles behind the line of scrimmage, and six others after a gain of zero to three yards), and Clemson to 34 yards overall on the ground, Notre Dame is up to No. 5 in the country with an average of just 85.1 rushing yards allowed per game.

In last week’s 16-13 victory versus now 1-7 Syracuse, Boston College did make a more concerted effort to balance its offense, with Bailey’s 25 carries netting 125 yards.

Regardless, during Notre Dame’s 7-0 start, the Irish are so far not only the best single-season rushing defense head coach Brian Kelly has fielded in 11 seasons in South Bend — 105.69 yards per game in 2012 remains the standard — but at this pace it would be the best at the school since the 1973 national champs had an 82.4 figure (but not including the bowl).

As expected, Bailey paces his team’s rushing attack, but it is with a modest 3.9 yards per carry and 53.6 yards per game. Quarterback Phil Jurkovec’s scrambling skills could make him a threat — he had a team-high 94 rushing yards on seven carries in a 48-27 win versus Georgia Tech — but he has only 96 rushing yards total this season overall, mainly because of 22 sacks that have lost him 193 yards.

Eagles preseason All-ACC senior right guard Ben Petrula remains a player to watch along an experienced but underachieving offensive line.

Advantage: Notre Dame

In one of the more anticipated reunions of this season, Jurkovec is at the throttle after transferring from Notre Dame in January, shortly after Ian Book announced he was opting for a fifth-year senior season.

With limited production in the Boston College running game, 74 percent of the Eagles’ offense runs through the quarterback. For the most part, he has delivered. Named the Eagles opening-day starter in the preseason after playing sparingly during his two years at Notre Dame, Jurkovec is averaging 260.4 passing yards per game (28th nationally) with 15 touchdowns and only four interceptions.

Arguably, Jurkovec’s most memorable game this season came Oct. 31 when he led the Eagles to a 28‑10 lead in the first half at Clemson before the top-ranked Tigers clawed back for a 34-28 win.

Sophomore wide receiver Zay Flowers (38 catches for 600 yards, 15.8 yards per reception and six touchdowns), junior tight end Hunter Long (43 catches for 501 yards and three scores) and junior wide receiver CJ Lewis (19 catches for 322 yards, 17.0 yards per grab and four touchdowns) provide a productive and reliable receiving trio.

To show how much the Eagles’ identity has changed from power football to slinging it, consider that after only eight games, Flowers and Long — who leads all tight ends nationally in receptions — are the first pair of Boston College players to have more than 500 receiving yards in a season since 2009.

Despite uninspiring sack and interception numbers for Notre Dame so far this season, its ability to limit “chunk” plays in the passing game remains the strength of a defense that has hovered near or inside the top 10 most of this season in the major categories. This remains the case despite Clemson’s D.J. Uiagalelei passing for a record 439 yards versus the Irish last week in defeat.

The most significant stat here is Notre Dame's top-five third-down defense with an exceptional 24.7 percent conversion rate allowed, which notably included limiting Clemson to 4 of 15 last week. The Irish safeties — sophomore Kyle Hamilton and sixth-year senior Shaun Crawford — provide a reliable and steadying force in the Notre Dame secondary.

Advantage: Even

In addition to third-down performance on both sides of the ball, there may have been not a more gratifying stat for the Notre Dame coaching staff last week than outrushing Clemson 208-34. Too often in marquee matchups, it is the Irish who have been in the double digits for rushing yards amid defeat. Physically controlling the line of scrimmage has been the foremost mandate this season.

The formula for Notre Dame hasn’t changed this season while averaging 227.7 yards on the ground (19th nationally): Sophomore Kyren Williams gets the bulk of the carries with junior C’Bo Flemister and freshman Chris Tyree — all three of whom have enjoyed at least one 100-yard rushing game this season — serving as complementary reserves. Book also provides timely ground production to augment the trio, highlighted by 67 yards last week against Clemson, leading Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney to opine that Book's scrambling skills were the difference.

Above all, the identity of this 2020 offense is physicality and “laying it on the line” with one of the most experienced offensive lines in the country. Boston College counters with its own veteran presence, as four of their top five defensive linemen are fifth-year seniors, while the fifth is a senior. It’s not one of the bigger units, though, with no end weighing more than 258 pounds and no interior man above 290.

Two BC linebackers — fifth-year senior Max Richardson and junior Isaiah McDuffie — rank first and third nationally in tackles with 79 and 71, respectively, with the rushing defense 53rd at 143.8 yards allowed per game.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Freshman tight end Michael Mayer continues building his case as a first-team selection for the 2020 Freshman All-America Team, and fifth-year senior wide receiver Javon McKinley is displaying better consistency after a here-today-gone-tomorrow start to his season. Mayer's 20 catches lead the team, while McKinley's 19 receptions average a robust 19.3 yards.

Senior slot receiver Avery Davis had his breakout moment versus Clemson with the 53-yard grab followed by the four-yard touchdown in the closing seconds to send the game into overtime. Finding more wideout targets was a work in progress the first two months but now is beginning to come to fruition as McKinley, Davis and fifth-year senior Ben Skowronek combined for 13 catches for 213 yards versus the Tigers. Their development should facilitate more lanes for Mayer and junior tight end Tommy Tremble (15 catches for 158 yards).

Down the line, it could even open up the screen game, although keeping Williams in for blitz protection blocking last week paid off tremendously.

Led by McDuffie at linebacker and fifth-year senior defensive end Maximilian Roberts working off the edge with 4.5 sacks, the Boston College sack rate is slightly improved this season from last year, and its youthful secondary recorded six interceptions through seven games after tallying 10 all of last season.

Advantage: Notre Dame

The highlights for Notre Dame special teams through its first six games remained the two touchdowns scored off blocked punts and not making any notable mistakes on its kick coverage units.

Junior kicker Jonathan Doerer remains highly reliable for the Irish, highlighted by four field goals versus Clemson last week (plus five crucial extra points) and Notre Dame’s kick return game has been adequate with Tyree getting the bulk of the work bringing back kickoffs.

With no touchdown returns allowed or recorded and nothing particularly noteworthy on the BC stat sheet, there is not much to report with its special teams, although the Eagles did allow a blocked kick this season. Kicker Aaron Boumerhi also converted a clutch 36-yard field goal attempt with three seconds to defeat Texas State 24-21 in September.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Kelly has thrived in these settings, winning nine of his last 10 road games against ACC foes since 2016 by an average of 30.1 points per outing. It is not out of the realm of possibility that he could finish with his fourth unbeaten regular season in 12 years, including 12-0 at Cincinnati in 2009 that propelled him to the Notre Dame job. The future College Football Hall of Fame inductee is at the apex of his coaching career with a 40-6 mark since 2017, and the chemistry with coordinators Clark Lea (defense) and Tommy Rees (offense) also might be the best in his term here.

First-year Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley takes over an Eagles program that went to six bowl games in seven seasons under former head coach Steve Addazio, so the cupboards are not bare.

Hafley, who arrived at Boston College after spending 2019 as a defensive secondary coach and co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State, had spent the seven seasons prior to his fly-by in Columbus as a secondary coach in the NFL. This is Hafley’s first career gig as a head coach.

Advantage: Notre Dame

Boston College is 2-32 all time against top-five teams at the time of the game, including an 0-13 mark at home. Would you believe the only two victories were against No. 4 and 8-0 Notre Dame on Nov. 2, 2002 (14-7), and 10-0 and the No. 1 Irish on Nov. 20, 1993 (41-39) — the week after Notre Dame toppled No. 1 Florida State?

A potential Notre Dame letdown could be a theme again after having faced and vanquished No. 1 Clemson — although we don’t believe it will happen because it’s being talked about too much and should keep the players locked in. Plus, the Irish have a bye the following Saturday (Nov. 21), so we project a leave-it-on-the-field approach this week.

However, we also anticipate the 5-3 Eagles will be at an emotional peak after somewhat muddling through with a 16-13 win versus 1-7 Syracuse last week. They do have a habit of playing up or down to the level of the competition. Boston College took both Clemson and North Carolina to the wall before losing 34-28 and 26-22, respectively, but also needed a dramatic late rally to defeat Texas State, scuffled their way through with Syracuse and was clobbered by Virginia Tech 40-14, committing five turnovers while the Hokies had none.

Hafley’s team is one of the most penalized in the country (119th out of 123) with 8.38 per game. They are also strong at generating turnovers by producing 14, which is fifth nationally.

Boston College had Notre Dame’s number from 2001-08 when it beat the Irish six straight times. The Irish have flipped the switch since, winning seven consecutive in this unique Catholic school rivalry. Kelly is 6-0 against the Eagles while coaching at Notre Dame and is 3-0 in contests played at Chestnut Hill, Mass.

Advantage: Even

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