Boston College @ Notre Dame preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 10, 2012 ) Notre Dame 21, Boston College 6

Notre Dame managed to hang onto the No. 4 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings when they were released on Tuesday night, but potential bumps in the road still loom. The Fighting Irish will try to put together another win to impress the selection committee when they visit Boston College at Fenway Park on Saturday.

The biggest test for Notre Dame continues to be fighting the urge to look ahead to the regular-season finale against Stanford, and the Eagles have a defense that could give the Fighting Irish some problems. “It's that time of the season where each and every week is a refocusing on the attention to really yourself and what you need to do to prepare your football team each and every week,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told reporters. “Everybody now knows the offense, defense, and special teams of their opponents.” The Eagles are coming off a bye week and are trying to snap a six-game slide during which they have averaged 9.3 points. "We just have to get experience,” Boston College coach Steve Addazio told reporters. “That is really what it is. We've tried to simplify, we've tried to do everything.”

TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network. LINE: Notre Dame -16.5

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (9-1): The Fighting Irish had no trouble remaining focused against a sub-.500 ACC team last week while racing past Wake Forest 28-7 and are thriving behind quarterback DeShone Kinzer. The sophomore threw for five touchdowns at Pittsburgh on Nov. 7 and changed up his style with only 111 passing yards but two rushing TDs last week. “We feel pretty good about DeShone's ability to communicate with us on the sideline and pick things up,” Kelly told reporters. “He's very smart. And, again, his retention is excellent.”

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (3-7): The Eagles lead FBS in total defense, holding opponents to an average of 237 yards, but sit last in total offense (277). Freshman quarterback John Fadule made his second straight start against North Carolina State on Nov. 7 and threw for 257 yards but was intercepted three times. “There have been some spurts in both the last two games where you can see things starting to happen,” Addazio told reporters. “We're not replacing one little piece, we are replacing all the pieces.”

EXTRA POINTS

1. Notre Dame RB C.J. Prosise (concussion) is expected to return after sitting out last week.

2. The Fighting Irish have taken four straight in the series.

3. The Eagles have not dropped seven straight since losing eight in a row between the 1990 and 91 seasons.

PREDICTION: Notre Dame 31, Boston College 3