BC and ND renew deal and what it means

Some good offseason news as BC and Notre Dame agreed to a six-game extension of our Catholic rivalry. This is big news for BC and for college football.

The BC angle
Despite this game being the most popular among our fanbase, Gene D was willing to walk away from the series due to Notre Dame's demands. We would not sign up for a lopsided series (i.e. 4 ND home games vs 3 BC home games). We entertained Notre Dame's desire for neutral site games but once again weren't willing to do it on just their terms. In this arrangement, the series continues with a few breaks in '13-14 and '17. All articles leave the door open for games beyond 2019. Although part of me dreads the Notre Dame fixation among some BC fans, congratulations are in order to the Athletic Department for pulling this off. By securing the series, the Irish help solidify our out of conference schedule, give the program that added emotional boost, and grow our history and rivalry with the only other Catholic school playing FBS football.

The College Football Angle
The commitment to BC is just one more indicator that Notre Dame is not joining the Big Ten any time soon. Would they be signing these future deals (that come with penalties if they are broken) if they were going to join the Big Ten this summer? If the Irish don't join a conference, then the Big Ten might go to 16 teams and start a chain of events that shakes up even the ACC.

I cannot tell you what the college football landscape will be like in 2019. I cannot tell you the state of BC football in 2019. I can tell you we will be playing Notre Dame -- and for better or worse -- that is all most BC fans care about.

BC-Notre Dame preview

Once again it is time for the most meaningless important game on BC’s schedule. BC probably doesn’t need this win to become bowl eligible. The game has no impact on the division. We are unranked and while we may crack the top 25 with a win, there is nothing really at stake here but bragging rights. This is the strongest Notre Dame team we’ve faced since 2002 and a real test to see if we have put our road woes behind us.

Narrative talking point that you’ll tire of by the end of the game.
“Notre Dame has shown great toughness and heart with all their close games.” Forgive me for rolling my eyes. I have no idea if Notre Dame has heart. They might be very tough. But playing close games is not a measurement of either. In fact, I have always felt that playing in too many close games is a sign of problems. And although I feel recruiting is overrated, playing close games against teams they should outclass like Washington and Purdue is encouraging for BC.

Three Simple Keys
1. Contain Clausen’s safety valve. I’ve been impressed by Notre Dame’s ability to keep drives alive on Clausen’s check downs. A defense will be set for the deep ball and Clausen will dump it off to a wide open RB or TE. BC needs to cover everyone.
2. First half offense. We all know our inability to move the ball in the first half of road games. Let’s set up some early throws for Shinskie and try to get a first down before the 3rd quarter.
3. Get other receivers involved. I imagine Notre Dame is going to focus on Larmond and Gunnell. We need to mix it up more...passes to the backs, passes to Jarvis, Megwa, etc. We can't be too predictable.

Gambling Notes
-- Charlie Weis is 10-10 after a loss
-- Charlie Weis is 24-21 against BCS opponents
-- BC hasn't been an underdog against Notre Dame since 2004
The current line is BC+8

Factoid
I've already heard a lot of Notre Dame fans take note of Shinskie's age as if BC planned this all out or did something wrong. Yet no Notre Dame fan feels the need to apologize for Jimmy Clausen's age. Clausen is older than all of our scholarship Juniors except Chris Fox. Fox's birthday September 11, 1987. Clausen's is September 21, 1987.

Scoreboard Watching
The most important game of the weekend is Clemson-Miami. Since the Tigers have a tiebreaker with us, we need them to lose at least one more ACC game than we do.

I hope to see…
BC establish the run early. Part of the problems in Blacksburg and Clemson were due to our inability to run the ball. If we expect to score with the Irish we will need to control possessions, move the chains and lift the pressure off of Shinskie.

BC is in trouble if…
We cannot pressure Clausen. He is hobbled. He doesn't have the mobility of Wilson or Ponder or Skinner. There is no reason we shouldn't disrupt him or flush him out of the pocket.

Bottom Line
This will be a tough game. The Irish have playmakers and can put up points quickly. At the same time, their defense is not very good. If the team that scored at will against NC State shows up, we can keep pace with Notre Dame. I think we will be focused, play tough on defense, and upset Notre Dame again.
Final Score: Boston College 31, Notre Dame 30

Notre Dame and BC: the future

Do we have a future with the Irish? I've been asked question by a few different people this week and with our current series with Notre Dame nearing an end and no future games with the Irish yet on the books, it is a legitimate concern. Gene has made a few statements acknowledging talks with Notre Dame. He usually adds some caveat that although we would like to play Notre Dame, we don't "need" them. That's not true. I haven't heard much from the Notre Dame administration but if you ask any Irish fan, he or she will be quick to tell you how little they need us. That is also not true. The reason I think the series will pick up in the near future is that both programs need each other. Let me explain.

Notre Dame's scheduling issues
There are so many unwritten rules and competing priorities surrounding Notre Dame football that it is hard to keep track. But know this, the most important things to them are their independence and their revenue. In order to maintain their independence and revenue stream they need to schedule a variety of solid opponents. Independence complicates scheduling though. Let's take a stab at an Irish schedule and its limitations that will force them back to the table with BC:
-- 3 Big Ten Games (Michigan, Michigan St, Purdue). Those three are probably not moving but complicate things by the Big 10's refusal to move them to later in the season. Notre Dame needs to play someone in October and November every year.
-- Navy, USC and Stanford. These three are not going anywhere and have definite places on the calendar.
-- 3 mandated Big East games. This helps with Notre Dame's scheduling a bit since they can dictate the who and where with many of the Big East teams. What complicates things though is NBC (the major revenue stream) wants quality opponents and good TV ratings. Some Big East teams can deliver that. Some cannot.

That leaves three slots to fill every year. Notre Dame won't play a DIAA team out of pride. They won't add another Big East team for fear of being too dependent upon the Big East and losing leverage. Although they played Nevada this year and San Diego State last year, Notre Dame will not load up on mid majors. Even with those limitations, there are still dozens of teams the Irish could play. But the challenge is that fewer are willing to play them these days. There is very little incentive for a tough non-conference schedule. That more than anything will limit the Irish's potential partners and keep BC in the conversation.

The other factor that will keep BC relevant is Notre Dame and NBC's need for neutral site games. The school and the network are starting neutral site games so that NBC can pick up an extra game that is technically not a Notre Dame home game. Even fewer schools are willing to do this. Also ESPN and most conference deals don't allow for neutral games to be shown on a rival network if the game is played within the conference's territory. For example, Notre Dame is playing Washington State later this month in San Antonio. The Pac 10 and ESPN would not allow WSU to play that same game in Seattle or LA or any other Pac 10 territory. Would BC play Notre Dame in Yankee Stadium or the Meadowlands? Not every year but certainly once or twice. Would the ACC and ESPN allow it? Technically the New York City area is not part of the ACC's TV territory so there is not much they could do to stop it.

So all that background is a long way of saying, Notre Dame will need a school like BC that is willing to play them on their terms. I am not suggesting that BC would or should agree to a series that doesn't include some games in Chestnut Hill, but it wouldn't surprise me to see a series that went like this South Bend-Chestnut Hill-Yankee Stadium-South Bend-Chestnut Hill-Yankee Stadium.

Why would BC agree to something like that? The answer would be pretty obvious to those who sat in Alumni Stadium for the NC State game.

BC still needs Notre Dame to generate fan interest

I hated typing that sentence but it is true. We are not selling out conference games. While some of it is certainly about the economy and some of it is about the tumultuous offseason, like it or not there is still a large portion of our fan base that is passive and really only cares about Notre Dame. If you are reading this blog now, you are more than likely a die hard, passionate BC fan. Now think of some of your BC friends who have casual interest in BC. Could they tell you who Montel Harris is? Could they name our current head coach or even our last one? Now if you offered those same friends BC-Notre Dame tickets would they be back to Boston in a minute? Will they be watching this weekend? It's sad, but true. We have thousands of great fans. We just don't have enough. That is not going to change overnight. Until we change the culture we need to schedule wisely and generate interest. So for now we still need Notre Dame.

What do I expect?
What I've just laid out is pretty accurate, yet neither side will be this candid. What predict will happen is that BC and Notre Dame will probably schedule a 1-1-1 series in the near future to start in 2014 or 2015. Both sides will build another break into the schedule and then add another 1-1-1. That will probably go on until the college football landscape changes or either party has a better alternative.

Snuggies thinks we are rivals

It has been debated endlessly: is BC truly Notre Dame's rival? With chicken and egg arguments like this you have to turn to an unbiased and trusted judge...like the Snuggie Company. If the maker of the revolutionary blanket with arms think the Irish and Eagles are rivals, than I think the case is closed.

Notre Dame at just the right time

Restless fans? Check. Season teetering between good and disappointing? Check. Losing streak? Check. It must be time for Notre Dame!

Through our short passionate history with Notre Dame the game has often fallen on the schedule at just the right time to save a season. In fact, many TOB critics felt his overemphasis on the Irish led to BC losing focus before the Catholic Rivalry game. But even his predecessor Dan Henning used the Irish to create some goodwill with BC fans after his rocky debut. Here is a quick look back on BC wins that changed the course of the season.

1994
Lead up: Henning was an unpopular choice among most BC fans to replace Coughlin. His start didn't do him any favors. After losing to a very good Michigan team in the opener, BC struggled at home against Virginia Tech. A win over Pitt was Henning's only W coming into the Notre Dame game. This was the Irish's first trip to Chestnut Hill and the memories of the 1993 game were still fresh.
What happened? BC kicked ass and won 30-11. It sparked the best stretch of football of the Henning era.

2002
Lead up: TOB had already beaten the Irish a few times by 2002, but he needed the win in this game. BC entered the game 4-3 with all three losses coming in Big East play. The Irish were undefeated and the talk of college football under new head coach Ty Willingham.
What happened? In a defensive struggle, BC won 14-7. The win was the TOB's first over a top 10 team. It sparked another run, as BC won four of its next five games.

2003
Lead up: BC entered this game 4-3 and were coming off an embarrassing loss to Syracuse the week before. There was also a QB controversy brewing between starter Quinton Porter and backup junior college transfer Paul Peterson.
What happened? Porter had one of his better days. However terrible special teams play kept the game close. BC won 27-25. The game did not spark a run as BC lost the next two games. It wasn't until Porter went down with an injury and Peterson took over that this team reached its potential.

2004
Lead up: The season started off strong with BC winning its first three games. Then the team hit a rough patch losing two of their three games prior to ND.
What happened? Peterson sparked a huge second half comeback and BC won 24-23. The win sent BC on a tear over the next three games...only to be derailed in the home finale against Syracuse.

I am more concerned with the remaining ACC games, but the reality is most BC fans are focused on this weekend's game. As our little history shows, a win this weekend could be a real shot in the arm.