What Happened the Last Time Notre Dame Played Boston College?
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The final quarter of Notre Dame’s 2026 season opens with the revival of a rivalry statistically shown to be the most one-sided beef in all of college football. You heard that mournful trumpet sound correctly – Fredo is coming back to town.
I poke fun here not out of disdain for Boston College, a school I respect a great deal. I can even remember a time when Irish fans were far less nonchalant about this series. During the cursed era of Irish football that coincided with my childhood the Eagles actually won six straight against Notre Dame. But Smash Mouth’s Law applies here as it does everywhere, and the Irish have now won ten straight in the series going back to 2009; I can happily report that BC hasn’t beaten Notre Dame since the state of California first authorized me to drive a car.
That era of dominance has rendered this series a fairly rote exercise, largely holding significance for Catholic families in the Northeast with connections to both schools and no one else. Not being from one of those families myself, this series hasn’t gotten much more than a shrug from me in many years. But my friends, that complacency is a trap – the treacherous brother returns to South Bend the week following a titanic clash with the Miami Hurricanes, and is thus in prime position to return to his old tricks. For a warning, look no further than last year.
Week 11: Boston College Eagles
Last matchup: Nov. 1, 2025 – Notre Dame 25, Boston College 10
A rerun of the old “BC makes Notre Dame play an ugly game but never really threatens to win” script we’ve seen many times, this sleepy afternoon kickoff in Chestnut Hill was the hardest to watch of all Notre Dame’s wins in 2025.
The Irish stumbled repeatedly on offense to open the game, as a 3-and-out was followed by a 4th-down failure that left the game scoreless at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles were absolutely determined to limit the damage Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price could do on the ground, knowing certain defeat awaited them if they allowed Notre Dame to run the ball. This meant it fell to CJ Carr and Notre Dame’s receivers to open things up. On a 4th-and-6 inside BC territory to open up the second quarter, they finally broke through as Carr found Malachi Fields 40 yards downfield for the opening touchdown. The Irish, then deep in the throes of kicking struggles, missed the extra point and led 6-0.
BC quarterback Dylan Lonergan then handed Notre Dame a golden opportunity to seize control of the game by throwing an interception to Tae Johnson on BC’s next drive. The Irish drove down the field, but a goal-line fumble by Jadarian Price dashed their hopes of taking a two-possession lead. It was here that the Eagles discovered what Navy has long known about how to stay in the game against Notre Dame: Hold. On. To. The. Football.
With new quarterback Grayson James in the game, the Eagles mounted a 14-play, 68-yard drive. It ultimately ended in a turnover on downs, but this was nonetheless a key moment in the game as it kept Notre Dame’s offense from getting enough possessions to build a larger lead. The Irish did score a touchdown on their next possession as Carr found Will Pauling for a 44-yard touchdown, but a quick scoring drive of their own had the Eagles down only 12-7 (the Irish had tried and failed a two-point conversion and missed a field goal, and you’re starting to see why I hated this game so much) going into halftime.
The Eagles continued their strategy of simply possessing the ball for long periods of time to open the second half, as they mounted an insane 21-play, 74-yard drive that took the first 11 minutes off the clock, aided by a handful of questionable penalties called on Notre Dame. Again Notre Dame’s defense limited the damage, yielding only a field goal that narrowed the lead to 12-10. With an upset bid now very possible if BC got a stop, the Irish offense immediately responded with a 7-play, 75-yard drive punctuated by a 3-yard touchdown run from Jeremiyah Love.
The next two possessions from each team effectively decided the game in Notre Dame’s favor. After another lengthy drive into Irish territory, James threw a desperation heave that ended up in the hands of Adon Shuler at the six yard line. On Notre Dame’s next play, lightning struck yet again in the person of Jeremiyah Love:
The game safely in hand, Notre Dame was content to exchange punts and turnovers with the Eagles for the remainder of the game and get out of Boston with a W. Coming off a bye and an emotional, physical win over USC the week before that, this was an incredibly sloppy game where the Irish demonstrated some serious rust – 7 penalties for 67 yards, several of which extended key BC drives, the aforementioned Price fumble, etc. – but still did enough to survive and advance. Winning your clunkers is as important in college football as winning the big ones, and this game showed some real growth from Coach Freeman and co. in that regard. Let’s hope it’s not such a headache this season in South Bend. Highlights below:
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