Notre Dame vs Boston College Series History

A look back at the football rivalry between Notre Dame and Boston College

Notre Dame returns home for Senior Day against rival Boston College, looking to extend its current win streak to five games, its win streak over Boston College to nine games, and to keep alive the hopes of a New Years’ Six bowl game.

NOTRE DAME vs BC SERIES HISTORY

Notre Dame and Boston College are the only Catholic colleges with FBS football programs, and thus it is somewhat surprising that they have only met 26 times on the gridiron, with the first matchup not coming until 1975. The Irish hold a 17-9 advantage over the Eagles, but this rivalry has been one of alternating periods of dominance by both programs.

Notre Dame won 8 of the first 10 matchups before momentum swung to Boston College in the early 2000s as the Irish faltered under Bob Davie, Tyrone Willingham, and Charlie Weis. Boston College won 7 of the 8 games between 1999-2008, including 6 in a row at one point. However, starting with a victory in Weis’ final season and continuing under Brian Kelly (who never lost to Boston College), the Irish have reclaimed superiority and bring an 8-game winning streak in the rivalry into Saturday’s matchup.

Of course, no summary of the Notre Dame-Boston College connection would be complete without mentioning Frank Leahy, the legendary Irish coach who still holds the second-highest winning percentage in college football history at .864 (Knute Rockne is at .881). Leahy got his head coaching start at Boston College where he led the school to a 20-2 record during the 1939 and 1940 seasons, including an undefeated season in 1940. 

However, when the Notre Dame head coaching job opened up after the 1940 season, Leahy jumped at the change to take the helm at his alma mater – which was not without controversy, as he had just signed a contract extension to stay in Chestnut Hill. The rest is history, as he went on to lead Notre Dame to 4 national titles in 1943, 1946, 1947, and 1949.

NOTRE DAME vs BC SERIES RESULTS

2020 – Notre Dame 45, Boston College 31
2019 – Notre Dame 40, Boston College 7
2017 – Notre Dame 49, Boston College 20
2015 – Notre Dame 19, Boston College 16
2012 – Notre Dame 21, Boston College 6
2011 – Notre Dame 16, Boston College 14
2010 – Notre Dame 31, Boston College 13
2009 – Notre Dame 20, Boston College 16
2008 – Boston College 17, Notre Dame 0
2007 – Boston College 27, Notre Dame 14
2004 – Boston College 24, Notre Dame 23
2003 – Boston College 27, Notre Dame 25
2002 – Boston College 14, Notre Dame 7
2001 – Boston College 21, Notre Dame 17
2000 – Notre Dame 28, Boston College 16
1999 – Boston College 31, Notre Dame 29
1998 – Notre Dame 31, Boston College 26
1997 – Notre Dame 52, Boston College 20
1996 – Notre Dame 48, Boston College 21
1995 – Notre Dame 20, Boston College 10
1994 – Boston College 30, Notre Dame 11
1993 – Boston College 41, Notre Dame 39
1992 – Notre Dame 54, Boston College 7
1987 – Notre Dame 32, Boston College 25
1983 – Notre Dame 19, Boston College 18 (Liberty Bowl)
1975 – Notre Dame 17, Boston College 3

NOTRE DAME vs BC NOTABLE GAMES

2020 – One week after defeating Clemson in a double overtime classic, Notre Dame cruised past Boston College 45-31 in the Irish’s only season as a full ACC member. Notre Dame used a second quarter surge that turned a 13-10 Boston College lead into a 31-16 Irish advantage at the half. QB Ian Book accounted for 368 total yards and 4 touchdowns, and RB C’Bo Flemister played one of the best games of his Irish career with 53 rushing yards and 2 scores. The swarming Notre Dame defense harassed Eagle QB (and Notre Dame transfer) Phil Jurkovec for much of the day, racking up 2 sacks and 7 TFLs. With the win, the Irish moved to 8-0 on the season and maintained their #2 national ranking.

2019 – Notre Dame’s defense controlled the line of scrimmage on Senior Day in 2019 as the Irish moved to 9-2 with a dominating 40-7 victory over Boston College. The Eagles managed just 191 total yards as Notre Dame piled up 4 sacks and 9 TFLs. Ade Ogundeji had 2 sacks and 3 TFLs alone. On offense, Ian Book was the star of the show, throwing for 239 yards and 3 touchdowns and leading a diverse Notre Dame rushing attack (that piled up 252 yards) with 66 yards on the ground. Notre Dame would defeat Stanford in the season finale and then Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl.

2017 – Fresh off a disappointing 20-19 loss to Georgia, Notre Dame overcame a slow start behind the strength of its rushing attack and ran away with a 49-20 victory at Boston College. QB Brandon Wimbush ran for 207 yards and 4 touchdowns – the most ever rushing yards by an Irish signal caller – and Josh Adams burst onto the scene with 229 rushing yards as well, marking the only time in program history that 2 players have eclipsed the 200-yard mark on the ground. In total, Notre Dame ran for 515 yards and 7 touchdowns. That success on the ground turned what was a 10-7 Boston College lead late in the second quarter into a blowout and ushered in arguably the most dominant stretch in recent Notre Dame history. The punishing Irish ground game led to blowout victories over Michigan State, Miami (OH), North Carolina, USC, NC State, and Wake Forest, before the wheels came off at Miami (FL).

2015 – Notre Dame moved to 10-1 by hanging on for a 19-16 victory over Boston College at Fenway Park. The Fighting Irish started fast, jumping out to a 10-0 first quarter lead, but 5 turnovers – including 3 inside the Boston College 5-yard line – let the Eagles hang around. QB DeShone Kizer was the star of the offense with 324 passing yards, and both Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle went over 100 yards receiving with a touchdown. With the win, the Irish positioned themselves for a College Football Playoff berth but would fall in heartbreaking fashion at Stanford in the finale and go on to lose the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State.

2012 – The anticlimactic, 21-6 win over Boston College moved Notre Dame to 10-0 and one step closer to the national title game. QB Everett Golson threw for 200 yards and 2 touchdowns and RB Theo Riddick had 104 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving. The Fighting Irish defense continued its dominant run by holding Boston College to just 53 yards rushing and forcing an interception, fumble, and 2 turnovers on down. Notre Dame defeated Wake Forest 38-0 the following week before securing a national championship berth with a 22-13 win at USC in the season finale.

2008 – Boston College extended its winning streak over Notre Dame to 6 games with a 17-0 shutout victory in Chestnut Hill. QB Jimmy Clausen played one of the worst games of his career with 4 interceptions – one of which was returned for a touchdown – and WR Golden Tate fumbled a punt, giving the Eagles a short field that they turned into their only offensive touchdown of the game. The offensive ineptitude spoiled one of the best games the Notre Dame defense played that season, as the Eagles threw for only 79 yards and went just 3-14 on third down. Notre Dame would go on to beat Navy the following weekend but then drop the last two games against Syracuse and USC, sending the Irish to the Hawaii Bowl where they beat the Rainbow Warriors to finish 7-6.

1993 – Boston College kicker David Gordon hit a 41-yard field goal as time expired, denying the Irish an undefeated season and second national title under Lou Holtz. That’s about all I can bear to write for this one.

1992 – With scenes from the classic film Rudy shot at halftime in Notre Dame Stadium, an angry Fighting Irish team dominated Boston College 54-7. The Tom Coughlin-coached Eagles had entered the matchup ranked #9 in the country (and fourth in the country in scoring defense) but were no match for the Irish attack. Notre Dame raced out to a 37-0 halftime lead behind 178 rushing yards from Reggie Brooks and an aggressive game plan from Lou Holtz, which included a fake punt up 37-0 in the third quarter. The blowout victory underscored the fact that no team was playing better than the Fighting Irish in the second half of the 1992 season. After the win over the Eagles, Notre Dame memorably defeated Penn State 17-16 the following week before beating USC 31-23 in the season finale and dominating Texas A&M 28-3 in the Cotton Bowl. 

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