Frigid temperatures will not stop two rivals from competing at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday.

When No. 18 Notre Dame (7-3) and Boston College (3-7) kick off (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC) week 12, the temperature will be 26 degrees, marking the chilliest Notre Dame home football game since BYU on Nov. 23, 2013. Meanwhile, the Irish will look to stay hot with its seven-game win streak against the Eagles since 2008.

Here are the players to watch during Notre Dame’s frozen home finale. The Irish are 21.5-point favorites, according to the Vegas Insider consensus.

While the weather should call for a heavy dose of handoffs, when offensive coordinator Tommy Rees does dial up the passing game, Braden Lenzy should be the go-to wide receiver target.

Before the Irish pass game fell apart in the second half against Navy last week, Lenzy was the focal point. The 6-foot, 182-pound graduate student had a terrific opening quarter, catching all five of his targets for 67 yards (13.4 yards per catch) and a touchdown. It was his best performance in what has been an underwhelming statistical season.

Stats aside, Lenzy has maintained a relentless work ethic, which has earned praise from Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.

"He’s resilient,” Freeman said. “A guy that didn't complain, continued to work his tail off. … For Braden, the ability to just continue to work tirelessly throughout the season and then all of a sudden, you have a game where you're called upon. The ball comes your way, and you're able to make some huge catches. And one of the most impressive catches I've seen.

“It's a great reminder for guys, continue to work, don't complain, your time is coming if you do the right things, and when the opportunity presents itself, you're ready to go, you'll make those plays. It's a great example of what we want our guys to understand.

“Sometimes you don't control the opportunities that come your way. You control how prepared you are and how hard you work. Braden Lenzy, (last) Saturday, was a great example of that."

Lenzy’s Saturdays in a Notre Dame uniform appear limited.

Though he still has his bonus COVID-19 season option available, Saturday will likely be the Tigard (Ore.) Senior High product’s last game at Notre Dame Stadium. Lenzy has been at ND since 2018.

Before the Navy game, Lenzy’s had a season-best four catches for 38 yards (9.5 yards per catch) and a touchdown. He has 19 catches for 195 yards (10.3 yards per catch) and two touchdowns on the season. In his career, Lenzy has posted 69 grabs for 862 yards (12.5 yards per catch) and eight touchdowns.

Saturday will not be the easiest matchup of his college career as the Eagles carry the nation’s No. 43 pass defense among 131 teams, allowing 209.3 yards per game. Lenzy is looking for his first touch against Boston College since a 61-yard touchdown run on Nov. 23, 2019.

No matter Notre Dame’s offensive play call, Donovan Ezeiruaku is a player quarterback Drew Pyne should key on every snap.

The 6-2, 236-pound sophomore leads the opposing Eagles in tackles for loss (11), sacks (six), quarterback hurries (four) and forced fumbles (three). He is also fourth in tackles (51) and has a pass breakup. Ezeiruaku has been so effective that his forced fumbles rank No. 7 in the country, and he’s 55th — and sixth in the ACC — in sacks.

Despite not being named a Joe Moore Award finalist — which annually recognizes the nation’s top offensive line unit — Notre Dame’s front five poses a tough matchup for Ezeiruaku. Before last week’s blundering against Navy, the Irish were No. 6 in tackles for loss allowed and No. 29 in sacks allowed. Going into this week’s game, ND fell to No. 19 and 45 in those categories, which are still above average.

Ezeiruaku enters this week’s matchup with at least a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss in four of his last five games. He also registered his third forced fumble of the season two weeks ago after having two of them in week one against Rutgers.

Saturday will be the Williamstown (N.J.) High product’s first clash with the Irish.

The 5-10, 172-pound Zay Flowers is in an elite company of wide receivers Notre Dame has faced this season.

“He's in that league with (Josh) Downs and (Jaxon Smith-) Njigba,” Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “I mean, he's in that group, so I have a ton of respect for him. Kid makes plays all over the field, down the field and makes plays with the ball in his hands.

“Obviously, the targets for him were up recently. So yeah, he's a challenge. He's a challenge vertically. He's a challenge underneath, and he's got the hands to make you pay. So, we just got to make sure that we know where he is and we're aware of what he's doing.”

Flowers has remained exceptional throughout his senior year, even with redshirt freshman Emmett Morehead taking over the reins as the team’s starting quarterback for the injured Phil Jurkovec. He has combined to catch 13 passes for 195 yards (15 yards per catch) and four touchdowns in the last two weeks.

Among FBS receivers, Flowers ranks No. 5 in receiving touchdowns (10), No. 10 receptions per game (6.7) and No. 15 in receiving yards per game (92.1). He is also one of only three players in the country with four touchdown catches of 50 yards or more and one of two players with at least three vs. FBS opponents.

“He brings an element of speed that I don't know if we've seen in a while in terms of being able to be a deep threat and run by defenders,” Freeman said. “He's quick, but I think the speed that he brings to Boston College's offense is going to be a huge challenge for us to match up with, so we're gonna have to have some different plans, change-ups coverage-wise for him.”

Notre Dame’s pass defense has allowed an average of 193.8 yards per game this season, which ranks No. 26 in the country. The last time the Irish let an opposing wide receiver rack up 100 yards was Kody Epps on Oct. 8 vs. BYU. Besides that, North Carolina’s Antione Green is the only receiver to exceed 100 yards against the Irish secondary this season.

With senior linebacker JD Bertrand ruled out last week because of a groin injury, Jack Kiser played more of a rover/safety position. And despite playing through an ankle injury of his own, the 6-2, 223-pound Kiser tied the team lead with eight tackles.

Kiser also had a blocked punt against the Midshipmen, earning him honors for Notre Dame’s special teams player of the week. And last week’s ankle injury won’t prevent him from trying to reclaim the award this week, as Freeman said Kiser is probable to play.

The Eagles are a good matchup for the graduate senior defender. When the Irish last played Boston College on Nov. 14, 2020, Kiser recorded his first career interception. He also tied for third on the team in solo tackles (three) and was one of seven players to record a tackle for loss.

This season, Kiser is second on the team with 46 tackles and is one of five players with a forced fumble. With Bertrand back and senior Marist Liufau playing 100% snaps last week, it will be worth noting what type of role Kiser has this week. Especially with freshman linebacker Jaylen Sneed knocking on the door for more playing time.

Kiser is seeking his first performance of 10 tackles or more. His previous season-high was nine against Marshall in ND’s season home opener Sept. 10. He also had 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack that game.

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