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Notre Dame Football: Remembering the 1993 Holy War vs. Boston College

By Daniel Morrison

Glenn Foley#13, Quarterback for the Boston College Eagles runs the ball during the NCAA Hall of Fame Bowl college football game against the University of Tennessee Volunteers on 1st January 1993 at the Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 38 - 27. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Allsport/Getty Images)
Glenn Foley#13, Quarterback for the Boston College Eagles runs the ball during the NCAA Hall of Fame Bowl college football game against the University of Tennessee Volunteers on 1st January 1993 at the Tampa Stadium, Tampa, Florida, United States. The Tennessee Volunteers won the game 38 - 27. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Allsport/Getty Images) /
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Remembering Notre Dame’s 1993 loss to Boston College, as the 2020 season begins to parallel that Irish team.

The students stormed the field as Charlie Ward’s last gasp was batted to the grass. Notre Dame had upset the No. 1 team in the country, in this case Florida State. It was the biggest win for the program in five years since the 1988 Catholics vs. Convicts game, and the Irish would wake up on Sunday ranked No. 1 in the country, in total control of their own destiny.

As Notre Dame upset Florida State, in Pittsburgh there was a blowout going on. Boston College marched into the old Pitt Stadium and pushed the Panthers around 33-0. This was an Eagles team, coached by Tom Coughlin, who came into the season with cautious optimism for the season.

They were ranked 20th entering the year before a loss to Miami and a shocker to Northwestern sent them to 0-2, leaving them unranked and largely forgotten.

Quietly, Boston College went on a hot streak from there, winning seven games in a row before their trip to South Bend. With the Irish hungover, and Boston College on fire, the Eagles were primed to pull an upset of the nations top ranked team.

It was the only the fifth edition of one of college football’s “Holy War” rivalry games, and Boston College had never beaten Notre Dame. Still, the two’s inter-winding history was deep, going back to when Notre Dame hired away Frank Leahy from Boston College.

Notre Dame had also blown out Boston College the year before, 54-7, and according to Boston College, had rubbed it in and laughed at them during that game.

Because of all that, no one nationally gave the Eagles much of a chance to pull the upset.

As Notre Dame had shown against Florida State the week before, and this past week against Clemson, the best way to pull an upset is to come out punching. Stand up to the school yard bully, and put them on the defensive. Make them prove they can adjust. Falling behind early is often insurmountable as an underdog.

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