Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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32 NOV. 23, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 230-pound redshirt junior linebacker Max Richardson. He leads the team in tackles (94), stops for loss (14) and sacks (3.5). No one else on the team has more than 6.5 tackles for loss. Outside of Richardson, the Boston College linebacker play has not been up to the program's standard. They routinely miss tackles, giving up big plays and putting too much pressure on their offense to keep them in games. Unfortunately, the Eagle secondary also has been an issue. In Boston Col- lege's last three contests, they've al- lowed an average of 41.3 points per game. That stat, Rowland said, largely falls on the defensive backs, who have surrendered 302.3 passing yards per game to rank 126th out of 130 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. "That's probably been the biggest struggle for the defense; it is just get- ting torched over the top," he said. "They have one of the worst passing defenses in the country and that's mostly due to blown assignments." Redshirt sophomore cornerback Brandon Sebastian has had some pro- ductive moments. He has 34 tackles, five passes broken up and one inter- ception through 10 contests. But the best defensive back has likely been safety Nolan Borgersen. He's known to miss a tackle here or there, but he's strong in run support and makes the occasional play in the backfield. MATCHUP WITH THE IRISH It won't come as a surprise, but Bos- ton College, like six other 2019 Notre Dame opponents, will play this game coming off of an idle week. This could allow the Eagles to bounce back from their disappointing 38-31 loss to Flor- ida State Nov. 9. This is also a matchup Boston Col- lege players generally get excited for and play at their best. "With it being a young team defen- sively, having an extra week to pre- pare is a good opportunity to reset and get everybody mentally straight because it will be a big day going into that environment," Rowland said. "It's going to be a very emotional at- mosphere. "A lot of the guys on this Boston College team are probably intrigued by the Notre Dame program coming up as prospects, and being able to re- bound from that loss with an extra week is important." The Eagles' recipe for an upset will likely come by way of running the ball a majority of the time on offense and limiting missed tackles on de- fense. If they can get Dillon going, the Irish defense will be in for a long day and it will allow Boston College to control the pace of the game. With that said, Rowland doesn't see that as a likely scenario. "It's probably a stretch given the way the defense has struggled this year," he said. "If you don't have a defense that can carry its weight, it's tough to win a game like that. "But the offense is probably good enough to keep it interesting for a little while." ✦ GAME PREVIEW: BOSTON COLLEGE Redshirt sophomore cornerback Brandon Sebastian compiled 34 tackles, five passes broken up and one interception in his team's first 10 games, but the Eagles' secondary has struggled this year. PHOTO COURTESY BOSTON COLLEGE FOOTBALL 2019 BOSTON COLLEGE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 31 Virginia Tech W, 35-28 Sept. 7 Richmond W, 45-13 Sept. 13 Kansas L, 48-24 Sept. 21 at Rutgers W, 30-16 Sept. 28 Wake Forest L, 27-24 Oct. 5 at Louisville L, 41-39 Oct. 19 NC State W, 45-24 Oct. 26 at Clemson L, 59-7 Nov. 2 at Syracuse W, 58-27 Nov. 9 Florida State L, 38-31 Nov. 23 at Notre Dame (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Pittsburgh TBA 2019 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Sept. 2 at Louisville W, 35-17 Sept. 14 New Mexico W, 66-14 Sept. 21 at Georgia L, 23-17 Sept. 28 Virginia W, 35-20 Oct. 5 Bowling Green W, 52-0 Oct. 12 USC W, 30-27 Oct. 26 at Michigan L, 45-14 Nov. 2 Virginia Tech W, 21-20 Nov. 9 at Duke W, 38-7 Nov. 16 Navy W, 52-20 Nov. 23 Boston College (NBC) 2:30 p.m. Nov. 30 at Stanford TBA