Notre Dame Football: Key Defensive Matchups vs. Boston College

Notre Dame football is 8-2 heading into their final home game of the season against Boston College. The strengths of this year’s Boston College team are on the offensive side of the ball. Let’s take a closer look at the key matchups for Notre Dame’s defense.

Notre Dame Stadium will host its final college football game of the 2019 season this Saturday. The game will be the 25th meeting between Notre Dame and Boston College in a rivalry known as “The Holy War.”

The Irish have won the last six games in this rivalry. They have a good chance to extend that streak to seven on Saturday, as they will enter the game as at least 20-point favorites.

Boston College has been solid on the offensive side of the ball — especially in the running game. The Eagles are currently ranked 16th in the FBS in yards per rush attempt.

Notre Dame’s defense will need to slow down that rushing attack and the rest of Boston College’s offense in order to solidify a victory on Saturday. Here are some of the key matchups for the Irish defense.

Notre Dame Defensive Line vs. Boston College Offensive Line

As previously mentioned, Boston College is currently ranked 16th in the FBS in yards per rush attempt. As a team, the Eagles are averaging 5.3 yards per carry. That success in the run game can be partially attributed to the play of running back AJ Dillon, but the offensive line has also been playing well.

The Eagles’ offensive line was named to the Joe Moore Award midseason honor roll for their performance in the first half of the 2019 season.

The anchor on the Boston College offensive line is junior tackle Ben Petrula. The 6-5, 310-pound lineman was named to the Outland Trophy watchlist this past summer and also earned first team all-ACC honors.

The first step to stopping an opponent’s running game is winning the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame has lost a few key players along their defensive line this season. Fortunately for them, they have the depth on their roster to overcome those losses.

If the Irish can get the Boston College offense behind schedule, they can really put pressure on quarterback Dennis Grosel, who has had some accuracy issues this year. If the Irish can get to him on passing downs, they may be able to force some interceptions.

Notre Dame Front Seven vs. AJ Dillon

If you asked the casual college football fan to name one player on Boston College, 100 percent of them would say AJ Dillon. Slowing down Dillon will be the top priority for Clark Lea’s defense this Saturday.

Dillon is a sure bet to play on Sundays in the future. The six-foot, 250-pound running back was named to the all-ACC first team this offseason and received the third-most votes for ACC Player of the Year.

Through ten games, Dillon has 1,451 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He has rushed for 150 yards or more in six games this year and has eclipsed 220 yards in two of those games.

Dillon is used sparingly in the passing game, but he averages one reception per game. He has 163 receiving yards and a touchdown this season.

Corralling Dillon will take a group effort. The Irish can not afford to miss tackles and allow him to get loose in the second level. The Notre Dame defense currently ranks 55th in yards per rushing attempt allowed.

If they play to their season average, I think that would be considered a success, given the quality of Boston College’s rushing attack.

Notre Dame Secondary vs. Dennis Grosel

The Boston College offense lost its starting quarterback, Anthony Brown, to a season-ending knee injury in early October.

Sophomore Dennis Grosel took the helm early in the second quarter against Louisville. He threw a touchdown pass two plays later to tie the game at 14. Grosel did enough to keep the Eagles in the game on the road against a quality ACC opponent.

Louisville ultimately kicked a field goal to take a two-point lead with a minute left in the game, but Grosel’s performance inspired some hope among Boston College fans.

In the five games he has played significant time in, Grosel has thrown for 689 yards and eight touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions. He has also rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown — earning him the title of “sneaky good athlete,” a favorite among football broadcasters.

The main criticism of Grosel is his accuracy. He is completing just 49.5 percent of his passes this season. A matchup against the Irish in South Bend probably won’t help those numbers. Notre Dame’s secondary has been solid against the pass this season. Grosel will be forced to make some tough throws on Saturday.