Marcus Freeman and No. 12 Notre Dame overcame a comedy of errors, including turnovers, penalties and missed kicks to claim the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl over Catholic rival Boston College for the 10th straight time. For the better part of 45 minutes, the Irish appeared inconvenienced to have to share the field with the 1-7 Eagles, who made just as many dumbfounded mistakes as their counterparts. Notre Dame was unable to create separation until star junior running back Jeremiyah Love saved his team and boosted his Heisman candidacy with a 94-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to seal the 25-10 Holy War victory.
The Holy War
Despite being the only two Catholic institutions competing at the highest level of intercollegiate football, Boston College and Notre Dame didn’t meet on thegridiron until 1975. Saturday marked the 28th meeting between the programs, which Notre Dame now leads 18-9. The Eagles have not defeated the Irish since 2008.
Both BC and ND were coached by legendary Irish alum Frank Leahy, who guided the Eagles to a national title in 1940 and the Irish to four championships in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949. The winner of the rivalry earns the right to hoist the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl, a cut-crystal trophy presented by the Notre Dame Club of Boston.
Speaking postgame on the importance of the rivalry, Freeman said, “It means a lot for the universities. But it also means a lot to the guys in our locker room.”
On the field, the Eagles have struggled mightily in year two under head coach Bill O’Brien. After a promising 7-6 campaign a season ago, Boston College has sputtered to a disappointing 1-7 start in 2025. Despite their passing attack ranking top-30 nationally, the Eagles were expected to turn to Alabama transfer Dylan Lonergan at quarterback for his first action since Oct. 11.
Notre Dame is on a different track, starting the season 0-2 before winning its last five in convincing fashion. Led by Love and freshman signal caller CJ Carr, the Irish offense has averaged over 460 yards per game. Paired with a BC defense that has allowed at least 28 points in every game against FBS opponents, the dual-threat Irish attack seemed primed for a big day.
Even when the offense has struggled, the Irish defense has evolved to clean up its errors from their lackluster performances in weeks one and two. After allowing 98 points to Miami, Texas A&M and Purdue, Notre Dame has conceded just 51 in wins over Arkansas, Boise State, NC State and USC.
How it happened
Donning the maroon and gold in front of a soldout Alumni Stadium crowd, the Eagles won the toss and elected to defer their choice to the second half. After freshman Andy Quinn’s kickoff sailed through the endzone, the Irish nearly opened the game with a three-and-out before transfer receiver Malachi Fields drew a pass interference penalty. Notre Dame’s early operations were sloppy, as fellow transfer pass catcher Will Pauling dropped the succeeding third down attempt, before junior Luke Talich committed kick catch interference on the ensuing punt.
The Eagles wouldn’t do much with their first possession either, the only saving grace for Boston College being a dropped interception by freshman safety Tae Johnson on 3rd & long to allow a punt.
Despite pickups of 15 to senior tight end Eli Raridon and 17 to Pauling, the second possession was another ugly one for Mike Denbrock’s offense. The drive stalled out at BC’s 33-yard line, as a 4th & 3 attempt to Pauling was broken up. Freeman assessed the slow start bluntly, saying, “We didn’t execute enough to get points.”
The Boston College attack remained anemic on the following series. Senior Shamus Florio’s punt was nearly blocked by Irish sophomore Adon Shuler, before junior wide receiver Jordan Faison had to cover his own muff to save possession for Notre Dame.
The Irish offense also remained uninspiring, as it was almost another three-and-out before Pauling made a nice adjustment to reel in a tipped ball. Carr unleashed an ill-advised deep ball that was picked off by junior cornerback Isaiah Farris, but the takeaway was negated by a questionable defensive hold. Notre Dame was unable to convert by the end of the first, as a missed block on 3rd & 9 left Freeman with a fourth down decision to spark his sputtering offense.
Freeman chose to leave his offense on the field to open the second, and after checking the play, Carr hit Fields for a 41-yard score over the middle of the field. The closest defender was actually Pauling, who nearly collided with Fields in the route pattern.
“I was throwing to Malachi. Really good play by him to jump over two defenders and his own receiver to come up with that one,” Carr said.
The Irish’s kicking woes continued, as transfer Noah Burnette doinked the PAT off the right upright, leaving the score at 6-0 after the 85-yard drive.
Notre Dame got the ball right back, manufacturing it’s 16th takeaway of the season. After a tip from Shuler, Johnson remedied his earlier drop, hauling in an interception from the seat of his pants.
Coming off the sudden change, Carr perfectly executed a play-action fake to connect with Faison for a 46-yard strike. After working their way inside the Eagles redzone, the team would come up empty-handed again after junior running back Jadarian Price was stripped by Farris while trying to fight for extra yardage. “We can’t fumble the ball on the plus-five-yard line. When we have chances to score touchdowns, we have to score,” Freeman said.
Boston College utilized that momentum to engineer their best drive of the opening half. The balance of pass and run kept the Irish interior off balance, but they were rebuffed on the doorstep of the redzone as Talich made an athletic recovery to bat down a 4th & 2 checkdown.
The Irish would convert off the turnover, as Boston College’s secondary seemed unable to decipher Notre Dame’s deep crossers. The lack of discipline in the back end left Pauling wide open for a 44-yard touchdown toss. The Irish opted to try for two with a screen to Love, but the Eagles stuffed it.
BC’s offense had demonstrated improvement after reverting to regular starting quarterback Grayson James earlier in the quarter. After escaping a consortium of Irish tacklers deep inside his own territory on 3rd & long, the senior knifed through the Irish defense en route to a 75-yard scoring drive. The impressive series was capped with a 25-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wideout Reed Harris.
With just 22 seconds remaining in the opening half, Notre Dame capitalized on a roughing the passer penalty to move within opposing territory. After the Eagles confusingly opted to play prevent coverage with seven seconds on the clock, the Irish lined up for a 35-yard field goal to end the half. Fitting for perhaps the worst half of the year, freshman Erik Schmidt’s try sailed wide right, and Notre Dame entered the intermission locked in a 12-7 dogfight with one-win Boston College.
Notre Dame outgained Boston College 286-163 throughout the first 30 minutes of football, but James completed 10 of 12 for 124 yards since taking the reins of the Eagles offense. An uninspiring performance from both sides, the first half saw two turnovers, 95 penalty yards and 0% redzone efficiency.
Boston College emerged from the locker room and pulled off the most methodical drive Notre Dame has conceded all season. The Eagles converted on 4th down three separate times over the 11-minute series, marching 74 yards before settling for a short field goal. Notre Dame nearly avoided all harm with a well-timed 4th down blitz in the redzone, but a controversial facemask penalty against junior edge rusher Joshua Burnham gave BC a fresh set of downs.
Disappointed with the length of the drive, but satisfied to only concede three, sophomore linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asu said, “We’re relentless. Never going to be perfect but we’re going to be relentless to get off the field and put our offense in a great position.”
After an extended rest, the Irish offense fired on all cylinders, effortlessly carving through Boston College’s defense. Raridon continued his strong showing by hauling in a contested 30-yard catch, before Love found the endzone from three yards out. Carr was quick to applaud the work ethic of his tight end, saying, “He’s very consistent with what he does. The trust has continued to build.”
The baffling Notre Dame kicking experience continued though the contest, as junior Marcello Diomede pushed the point after, becoming the third Irish placekicker to miss right from short distance. “The issue is every time we kicked, the ball didn’t go through the field goal posts. If you’re rotating three kickers, you don’t have one,” Freeman said.
The ensuing BC possession again extended deep inside Irish ground, once again aided by penalties. After missing a sack on 3rd & long, junior linebacker Jaylen Sneed drilled James out of bounds, gifting yet another free first down to the Eagles. But Boston College was unable to allow Notre Dame the spotlight in stupidity. James made his first crucial error of the day, aimlessly flailing a pass while being sacked, falling into the waiting arms of Shuler.
The Irish finally gained separation on the following play, thanks to a patented Jeremiyah Love sprint. After being held in check for the first three quarters, Love took an inside handoff 94 yards through the heart of the Eagles defense, saving Notre Dame’s season and his own Heisman campaign. Perhaps more surprisingly, Schmidt converted the PAT to make the lead 25-10.
Notre Dame played to a three-and-out and proceeded to attempt yet another fake punt. Seeing that senior Tyler Buchner and Love remained in the formation, the BC coaching staff recognized the fake and the Eagles flattened a hurdle attempt from Love.
All told, Notre Dame overcame its struggles to win the Holy War and sustain their College Football Playoff dreams. It wasn’t pretty, but it was better than a loss. “The only time we are outcome driven is the end of the game,” Freeman said. “The minute you’re satisfied you get passed up. If you’re satisfied, you stop getting better.”
His quarterback agreed, saying, “Our ceiling is really high and we are just trying to elevate every week.”
Carr finished the afternoon with 299 yards and two touchdowns, while Love took his 17 carries for 136 yards and a score. For BC, James racked up 240 yards through the air to go along with one touchdown and one interception. Senior receiver Lewis Bond led all pass catchers with eight receptions for 92 yards. The two sides combined for an impressively dismal 16 penalties, four turnovers and three failed kicks.
Chris Ash’s Irish defense continued their ascent, holding the Eagles under 300 yards, while also collecting five sacks and three interceptions. Johnson hauled two of those takeaways and also added a pass breakup, while junior linebacker Drayk Bowen led the interior with 14 tackles.
What’s next
Boston College has now dropped eight in a row since their opening week drubbing of Fordham, an FCS program. The Eagles will continue its three-game homestand in Chestnut Hill next Saturday against SMU. After a College Football Playoff appearance a year ago, the Mustangs have again been impressive under the leadership of rising star Rhett Lashlee. After toppling No. 10 Miami in Dallas this weekend, SMU will come to New England at 6-3.
Now bowl-eligible, the 6-2 Irish will need to look much better over their final four games of the season if their hope to return to the CFP. “As you move further in the month of November, everything is magnified,” Freeman said.
Notre Dame returns to South Bend next Saturday for the final night game inside Notre Dame Stadium of the 2025 campaign. The annual contest with Navy will have high stakes, as the Midshipmen hold just one loss following this week’s defeat at North Texas. The rivalry showdown is set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff with national coverage presented by NBC.