Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME Pittsburgh By Andrew Owens Once Notre Dame beat USC Oct. 17, most fans identified the showdown at Stanford Nov. 28 as the team's final hurdle for an 11-1 season and possible College Football Playoff berth. Outside of needing to survive an Oct. 31 trip to undefeated Temple in arguably the most signifi - cant game in the Owls' history, the Irish also must survive a pair of competitive ACC opponents (and Wake Forest) in November. Traveling to the East Coast the week before the Stanford game to face Boston College will not be an easy feat, but the Eagles possess such a putrid offense (38 points in their first five ACC games) that an upset seems unlikely. Pittsburgh, however, has a track record of bringing out the worst in Notre Dame — Irish wins of 23-17 in 2010, 15-12 in 2011 and 29-26 in triple overtime in 2012, and a 28-21 Pitt win in 2013 — so the Panthers cannot be discounted. On top of that, first-year head coach Pat Nar - duzzi has 6-2 Pittsburgh playing competitively, with a three-point loss at undefeated Iowa and a 26-19 setback to 7-1 North Carolina the lone blemishes. With the steady play of quarterback Nathan Peterman (1,373 yards, 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in the first eight games) and elite wide receiver Tyler Boyd (63 receptions for 578 yards and four touchdowns in eight games), Pitts - burgh's offense has survived the season-ending injury to star running back James Conner. Notre Dame feels good about its schedule lead- ing up to the season finale at Stanford, but it should surprise no one if the Panthers top the Irish again. Boston College By Bryan Driskell If you are looking for the best opponent on the schedule, the answer is Pittsburgh — which is exactly why Boston College is the team that is most dangerous. Notre Dame has struggled with the Panthers in recent seasons and there are enough players on the roster that remember what happened the last time the Irish traveled to Pittsburgh. For that reason, the Irish will likely come out focused and ready to take on the Panthers. Notre Dame also matches up well against what has been a stout Pittsburgh defense in 2015. Boston College has been decimated by injuries on offense, and the only two games in which the Eagles have scored more than 17 points were against Football Championship Subdivision op - ponents in early September. The Eagles are suffering through a long losing streak that could very well continue until Notre Dame comes to town. A week after playing BC, Notre Dame travels out to Stanford for its final College Football Playoff audition. It will be very easy to overlook Boston College, but this will be the Eagles' final chance at salvag - ing their season. There are a lot of reasons to overlook Bos- ton College, which is what makes it dangerous. Most notably, though, the Eagles boast an elite defense. BC ranked in the top five nationally in rushing defense (No. 1), total defense (No. 2), tackles for loss (No. 2), scoring defense (No. 3), third-down defense (No. 4) and sacks (No. 5) entering Halloween weekend. If that unit continues to play at a high level, the Eagles could be poised for an upset. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH NOVEMBER OPPONENT IS THE BIGGEST ROADBLOCK TO NOTRE DAME ENTERING THE STANFORD GAME WITH ONLY ONE LOSS?