Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 OCT. 4, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED GAME PREVIEW: BOISE STATE very well-coached football team. And that defensive coordinator issue isn't enough to offset the rest. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Motivation will not be a problem for Notre Dame … if it defeated Arkansas Sept. 27 (due to the nature of Blue & Gold Illustrated's publication schedule, this was written Sept. 24). Freeman can easily tell his team, "Hey, these guys made the College Football Playoff" last year and the Irish will take the Broncos seriously, so there shouldn't be any Northern Illinois-style underestimation going on. If Notre Dame is 2-2 entering this game, Free- man's group has everything to play for, too. But if the Irish fall to the Razor- backs, all of a sudden, the season's goals are no longer attainable. How would they respond in that situ- ation? It's hard to say, but there is prec- edent. In 2023, Louisville upset Notre Dame and squashed its CFP hopes in October. Instead of sulking, the Irish came out angry the next week and beat No. 10 Southern Cal 48-20 (the Xavier Watts game). Boise State, meanwhile, has been rel- atively untested since losing to South Florida. The Broncos have beaten East- ern Washington, Air Force and pre- sumably Appalachian State since then. A trip to South Bend might be a rude awakening for Danielson's bunch, who shouldn't return to Boise with a win. Advantage: Notre Dame Staff Predictions Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 48, Boise State 35 One of the nation's winningest and most consistent programs this century, Boise State appears to have returned to form following a surprising 34-7 upset loss to South Florida in its season opener. A 12-team playoff participant last season, the Broncos followed up the defeat with more familiar high-octane victories over Eastern Washington and Air Force in which Boise State scored 51 points and 49 points, respectively. The Broncos were ranked 11th nationally in total offense through games of Sept. 20, but were just 97th in total defense. Not much defense in this one, the Irish win a shootout. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 44, Boise State 23 Boise State has developed a football program that has become the standard for the Group of Five. However, it's now been 11 years since they defeated a ranked Power Four opponent (a 38-30 win over Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2014) and 17 years since it won a game against a ranked Power Four opponent on its home field (37-32 at Oregon on Sept. 20, 2008). The bottom line is that the Broncos are not recruiting on the same level as the Notre Dames of the world. The Irish will win this one going away on the strength of an offense that has been clicking on all cylinders since the slow start at Miami. Eric Hansen: Notre Dame 45, Boise State 20 The Broncos have a history of showing up big when they cross the line into power conference territory for a regular-season matchup, as was the case last September with a 37-34 near-upset of Oregon on the road. Their first-ever meeting with Notre Dame, also on the road, won't end as dramatically or as favorable for Boise State and former Irish cornerback Jaden Mickey, who's part of a defense that has undergone some serious regression from the 2024 College Football Playoff version of itself. That's especially true against the run. Boise State's offense still packs a punch, even without 2024 Heisman Trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, but not enough to hang around until the fourth quarter. Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 42, Boise State 27 The Broncos bring another talented offensive team capable of putting points on the board, and it starts with a veteran quarterback in Maddux Madsen who helped guide the Boise State to the 2024 College Football Playoff. As it turns out, the Broncos' running game is in fine shape without Ashton Jeanty, too, because of a trio of tailbacks who have picked up where he left off. Between Maddux and the Broncos' stable of runners, and Notre Dame's shaky defense, Boise State will score. But the Bron- cos have a shaky defense of their own, so CJ Carr, Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price and Co. will keep the scoreboard operator busy in their own right. Extra busy. It may be close for a while, but in the end, Notre Dame has more firepower than Boise State — es- pecially playing in front of a home crowd. The Irish get another much-needed tally in the win column. Tyler James: Notre Dame 45, Boise State 27 The good news for Notre Dame's defense is it doesn't have to play against the Irish offense. A return to Notre Dame Stadium should allow the Irish to keep putting up points to take pressure off the defense. Boise State doesn't have the personnel to slow down Notre Dame's running game, and quarterback CJ Carr will prevent the Broncos from loading the box. Notre Dame's defense will continue to work through its issues against a balanced offensive attack. Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 48, Boise State 24 When I published my way-too-early prediction of the Boise State game in the Football Preview, I penciled in a 34-20 Notre Dame win. However, before the season, I didn't expect the Irish offense to be high octane and the defense to be high risk. So, I'm predicting another high scoring game at Notre Dame Stadium, but an Irish win. Boise State has a bottom-third defense in the country, and I like Notre Dame to take advantage of it. Jack Soble: Notre Dame 52, Boise State 20 It's difficult to fully trust the Irish in any game right now, given the way their defense is playing. But on the other side, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price and an offensive line that's finding its groove are probably licking their chops as they watch Boise State's Week 1 loss to South Florida. The Broncos really struggled to tackle that night, and they're unlikely to be more successful against Love, Price and company. Notre Dame wins handily at home. Through three games this season, redshirt senior linebacker Marco Notarainni had made 13 defensive stops (tackles that result in a failure for the offense). PHOTO COURTESY BOISE STATE ATHLETICS