BC Roundtable: Previewing Notre Dame vs. Boston College

A trio of BC journalists look at this weekend's game against Notre Dame and give their thoughts.

For today's roundtable we talked with Dan Rubin of BCEagles.com and Kevin Stone of NEFootballJournal.com. In today's roundtable we preview the Notre Dame game, and talk about some of the the big topics around the team.

Watching Clemson and Notre Dame this weekend what were some of the biggest takeaways you got watching the Irish?

AJ - They are just a fundamentally sound team. Watching them play, you can see that they don’t make a lot of mistakes (other than Ian Book’s fumble), so if BC is going to live and die by the turnovers it’s going to be a Herculean effort.

Dan - This Notre Dame team has an indescribably toughness to it. The offense creates surge, and the skill position players bully their way into open spots. They are cohesive and move as one single unit off the snap, which is rare to see on that many plays in a game. The defense is physical and violent, as Jeff Hafley would say, and it finishes strong in the tackle. Travis Etienne was virtually invisible and didn’t even gain 50 yards on the ground because of that.

Obviously this rivalry is special for a variety of reasons, what is about BC-ND that makes it stand out to you?

Dan - I understand Notre Dame isn’t technically a “Boston school,” but the school’s national appeal through the Irish Catholic culture cannot be overstated. It’s a home team for a lot of people in Massachusetts, so there’s a sibling intercity rivalry similar to the English soccer derbies. It’s very similar, in my mind, to the BC-BU hockey rivalry where families are divided based on their school choice.

Kevin - For me, it’s just memories of watching it with my dad or grandfather. We don’t have any BC ties in the family, but when you saw the two schools & crowds jam packed in South Bend or at Alumni you knew it was a special game. It’s always been a must-watch game for me even though I was more of an Eagles follower than a fan growing up. This will also be my first red bandanna game so can we just get to Saturday already?

There are a myriad of “factors” that could make this game competitive. Whether you are talking about the Red Bandanna game, the rivalry, Phil Jurkovec or a possible post Clemson game let down. Which of these do you think will actually be a factor on Saturday

Kevin -The Clemson experience coupled with the spot for Notre Dame. First of all, having to travel and match the emotion BC will be playing with is a tough thing for the Fighting Irish to do, particularly after such a mentally draining game against Clemson. Speaking of the Tigers, I think what BC went through in Death Valley will be huge. This is still a young team learning how to close out big games, and failing to do so against Clemson provides a very valuable experience to lean on if the game is close again on Saturday night.

AJ - I agree with Kevin. The timing of this game couldn’t be more perfect for the Eagles. The post Clemson hangover is a documented phenomena that has hit almost every team they have played this year. Though the red bandanna uniforms do a have a bit of magic in them, and can really bring something special out of a team if the players are talented enough (this team is).

What is your favorite non David Gordon BC-ND memory?

AJ - 2002. I was with my then girlfriend (now wife) in Walsh Hall watching the two teams battle on TV. BC ends up winning the game, and two minutes later there is a ton of noise out the window and what do we see? The field goal poles from Alumni Stadium being marched down St. Thomas More Drive. It was an incredible moment.

Kevin - Fenway game. I wasn’t there, but the visual of two historic programs playing at such a historic ballpark is a sports writer’s dream.

Dan - The best way to describe is with a quick story: I went to high school at Malden Catholic, and our athletic director, Rick Mazzei, was a Notre Dame alum. Our colors were blue and gold, and our varsity logo interlocked the MC. Our fight song was the Notre Dame Victory March. I love MC, but I walked into school every year as a Boston College fan. The trash talk about the rivalry was great, especially since my friends all gravitated to Notre Dame. Walking the halls in 2002, wearing a BC sweater as they all slowly burned, was the best feeling in the world.

Quick Hitters

Trevor Lawrence missed a pair of games, who is your Heisman favorite right now?

Dan - I still think Lawrence is the favorite, but Alabama’s Mac Jones is making a huge case to push him for the trophy. He has three 400-yard games this season and is well over 2,000 yards with 16 touchdowns and only two picks.

Kevin - Trevor Lawrence. In the immortal words of Ric Flair “in order to be the man, you have to beat the man,” and I don’t think anyone has proven they’re that much better than him yet. I think if anything, his absence has helped his case & shown the country just how valuable he is to that team.

AJ - Going to disagree with Kevin and Dan here and say Justin Fields. I think Lawrence dropped to third behind Fields and Mac Jones of Alabama.

Reporter question…..who is your favorite current BC player to interview and why?

AJ - Alec Lindstrom. Just a really personable kid that will tell you anything and everything that is going on. One of those players that feels like you are talking to the guy sitting on a barstool next to you rather than a college football player. Close second and third are Max Richardson and Ben Petrula. 

Dan - Completely off the board, but I’m going with Taylor Soule from the women’s basketball team. I have a soft spot for that entire team, which would have been in the NCAA Tournament last year, but I honestly could break down basketball with T-Soule for hours if time allowed. Media day is next week, followed by the start of the season, which could get really interesting for a program trending in the right direction.

Kevin - Either McDuffie or Valdez. Both guys always seem to enjoy the few minutes they have with us and always provide either a great detail breaking down the game or a great quote to get people hyped up for the week.

__________ 

You can follow the panelists at:
Kevin Stone: @kstone06
Dan Rubin: BCDanRubin
AJ Black: @AJBlack_BC