Some Boston College Eagles fans may try to convince you this is a rivalry game, but no Notre Dame Fighting Irish fans treat it with the same intensity a true rivalry deserves.
Rather, the biggest question for the Irish this weekend is just how many points they can win by to best bolster their College Football Playoff résumé.
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My Notre Dame vs. Boston College predictions see the best path to an Irish blowout coming via their defense.
Read more in my college football picks for Saturday, November 1.
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Notre Dame vs Boston College prediction
Notre Dame vs Boston College best bet: Boston College team total Under 13.5 (-110)
Notre Dame’s defense began the season in rather ugly fashion, most notably giving up 41 points to Texas A&M and then 30 to Purdue.
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Since then, the Irish held Arkansas, Boise State, and North Carolina State all below 14 points before giving up 24 to USC. Those four opponents all fell short of their team totals by an average of 10.25 points.
Worse yet for Boston College, all four of those opponents have genuinely decent passing offenses. The worst among them is Arkansas’s, ranking No. 48 in the country in expected points added (EPA) per dropback, according to CFB-graphs.com. All four programs also pass the ball more often than expected for an average team in a given game state, with Boise State the most conservative at 1.2% above expectation, and the other three all at 3.1% or higher.
USC managed to put forth an about-average passing performance against the Irish, but the other three all set their offenses back with each dropback, NC State faring the worst at -0.402 EPA per dropback.
Enter Boston College, throwing the ball more often than any of these at 5.0% more often than expected, but doing so abysmally, ranking No. 125 in the country in EPA per dropback.
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Notre Dame’s aggressive secondary should feast on the Eagles. Add in how poorly Boston College finishes quality drives — ranking No. 118 in the country at 2.68 points per quality drive — and the Eagles very well might not score a touchdown at all.
Notre Dame vs Boston College same-game parlay
Notre Dame needs to continue running up scores in order to impress the Playoff selection committee, and beating Boston College by 30+ will certainly fit that need.
Receiver Will Pauling has caught a touchdown in four straight games, in part because slot counterpart Jaden Greathouse has missed three straight games. Greathouse has been ruled out for at least one more week with a hamstring injury.
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Notre Dame vs Boston College SGP
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Boston College team total Under 13.5
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Will Pauling anytime touchdown
Our deep-ball SGP: Carr Show
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr has thrown at least two touchdown passes in every Irish blowout this season, including four straight games before a mildly more competitive win against USC two weeks ago.
Grayson James has thrown for five touchdowns over his last two starts, but he’ll be lucky to get one against this Irish secondary.
Notre Dame vs Boston College SGP
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Boston College team total Under 13.5
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Will Pauling anytime touchdown
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CJ Carr Over 1.5 touchdown passes
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Grayson Games Under 0.5 touchdown passes
Notre Dame vs Boston College odds
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Spread: Notre Dame -28.5 (-110) | Boston College +28.5 (-110)
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Moneyline: Notre Dame -7000 | Boston College +2000
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Over/Under: Over 56.5 (-110) | Under 56.5 (-110)
Notre Dame vs Boston College trend to know
Boston College has gone just 2-5 against the spread vs. FBS opponents this season. Find more college football betting trends for Notre Dame vs Boston College.
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How to watch Notre Dame vs Boston College
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Location |
Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, MA |
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Date |
Saturday, November 1, 2025 |
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Kickoff |
3:30 p.m. ET |
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TV |
ESPN |
Notre Dame vs Boston College latest injuries
Notre Dame vs Boston College weather
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Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
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This article originally appeared on Covers.com, read the full article here
