Notre Dame, Boston College Extend Series

notre-dame-boston-college
Notre Dame and Boston College will square off 6 times over the next 9 seasons after extending their series earlier this week. (Photo - Icon SMI)

The Notre Dame – Boston College series was set to expire after the 2010 season before the two agreed to the extend the series until 2019 according to the Boston Herald.   According to the report, the two schools will face each other six times over the next nine seasons.

Based on the Herald’s report, Notre Dame will host the Eagles in 2011, 2016, and 2018 and will travel to Boston in 2012, 2015, and 2019.  The two won’t face each other in 2013, 2014, or 2017 according to the report.  Notre Dame travel to Alumni Stadium to face Boston College October 2 as part of the previous agreement.

Boston College AD Gene DeFilippo told the Herald that it was important to keep the series going since the two schools are the only Catholic universities in D1 football.

“Jack Swarbrick and I agreed that since Boston College and Notre Dame are the only Catholic institutions that play Division 1-A football, we should continue to play each other over a period of years,” DeFilippo said yesterday.

Notre Dame owns a 10-9 edge in the series history, but Boston College has gotten the better of the Irish in recent years.  Before beating BC 20-16 this past season, the Eagles took six in a row over the Irish.  Those six wins did come during a stretch of some pretty lean years for Notre Dame.

The series, however, will forever be remembered for Boston College knocking off the then ranked #1 Irish in Notre Dame’s regular season finale costing them a shot at the ’93 national championship – a game and loss this writer still hasn’t gotten over.  Boston College also knocked off an undefeated Notre Dame team in 2002 during Tyrone Willingham’s inaugural season in South Bend in a game where Willingham ill-advisedly    broke out the green jerseys.

Hopefully Brian Kelly can reverse the fortunes his predecessors experienced against Boston College over the next several years.  Lou Holtz and Dan Devine were a combined 6-2 against BC.  Bob Davie, Ty Willingham, and Charlie Weis meanwhile, were a combined 4-7.

Here’s some highlights from Notre Dame’s win over BC from the fall.

[youtube]cwNxGd9Ikd8[/youtube]

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37 Comments

  1. I have been verbally assaulted and spit upon for wearing a Notre Dame shirt at Alumni “Stadium” (frankly stadium is a stretch, the place is a Sears build-it-yourself shed).
    The comments from BC fans in the Boston Globe regarding this announcement indicated a fan base with a sense of entitlement and bravado that far outweighs the reality of their football history. Real jackasses. That said, they have had the best of this rivalry since ND destroyed them in ’92. ND has a 10-9 series advantage at present. Lets hope that coach Kelly takes this game more seriously than those who came before him.

  2. C-Dog, that’s funny. I’ve watched BC play on the road at around 20 venues (including football and hockey) as well as a number of neutral sites, some of which were essentially road games (the ’06 hockey title game vs. Wisconsin at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center, for instance). Notre Dame is the ONLY place I’ve ever had anything thrown at me for no reason other than having the audacity to support my team.

    1. Well, Alex,
      I’ve been going to Notre Dame games since 1985. I’ve NEVER seen or heard of anyone at Notre Dame throwing anything at another fan.
      But how do you account for the fact that the press has reported in the past how things have been thrown at ND players at BC’s stadium. The Drunken Irish certainly know how to throw a party there in Boston.

  3. Meanwhile anyone alarmed by the Big 12 collapsing? All these posts about future schedules may be moot if ND is forced to join a conference.

    1. Yeah, we could be seeing some HUGE changes in the college football landscape. The new “pac 16″…. Possibly Nebraska coming to the Big 10…

      My word..

  4. So now it comes. The NCAA finally realized that it has let sports money become so bad that it took 5 years to deal with a school that openly thumbed its nose at the student in student athlete. Too bad they didn’t cite Matt Leinert’s lack of minimal enrollment. That should be the blatant violation. Truly how can one trust that a USC grad really has a degree. I guess I’ll know not to hire anyone from USC. If college curriculum is bogus for the football team why not all their students and alums.

    I did think this would happen. The NCAA would eventually lose its audience. If college athletics become so like the pros, why watch? I watch college sports because the athletes are amatuers. As a volunteer coach, I enjoy seeing the regular kids try their best. I don’t need to watch a game just because the bodies out there are the most talented. I want to see heart. Pros don’t normally have it.

    Also when the pot of money gets too big, the very sport is tainted. Who doesn’t think the NBA is rigged, at least partially? That also leads me not to want to watch much. And so the NCAA had to guard against the stain of cynicism that would eventually eat into the market share.

    This had to happen. I just hope they put all the USC folks straight and let out all the facts. I’d like to hear comments on assistant coaches activities at parties. I’d like to hear about lack of college accredited class attendence or real college level study. Or how about Leinert? And let’s listen to Pete Carrol spew his lies and have to back track like that shameful excuse of a President, Bill Clinton. It so sad that Bill taught us a lie is not a lie if you believe it. Pete the Cheat is following that exact line of reasoning.

    And part of me is sad about this. Really sad that it happened and happens elsewhere. It weakens our society. But hopefully, the punishment will set the tone that it’s not going to be acceptable. The folks in LA will just need to deal with the fact that most of America still has values. Ethics, morals, and Faith are not to be laughed at. Those things are what keep us form being a 3rd world cespool.

    1. C-Dog,

      Well said my friend!
      I like your insite.
      If I sent my son or daughter to USC for education and sports, and the underlining values that they were teaching them was that lies, cheating, and cutting corners, is acceptable and encouraged, I would be none to happy as a parent.
      The folks in LA fail to realize that these same young people that absorb these tainted values, will one day soon be looked upon to lead, defend, and preserve our country.
      *remember Pete Carroll’s
      “Win Forever”?
      It just doesn’t seem to have that same ring to it this moring.

  5. USC does not deserve to be on the same field with ND. Our administration needs to show REAL leadership by canceling the USC series immediately. There are numerous opportunities to play high quality teams like Texas and others. Why endorse USC?

  6. As pissed as I am about SC getting a slap on the wrist, it is important for this program to move forward and become a powerhouse again. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but I think Kelly is the right guy to get ND back on track. I will see this year, I think he has a better team than what people think. CW didn’t leave the program with no talent and JC as good as he was last year I just didn’t get the feeling he was a leader like many other ND QB’s. We will see this year and beating Kiffin would be great.

  7. You are right. The NCAA will punish to the max an “upstart” school trying to play with the big boys. I remember back in the early 70’s a little school in Louisiana all of a sudden hsd a top 10 basketball team. The infractions were not as grievous as the SC actions but the school was hammered with the death penalty.

  8. The NCAA has double standards with regards to cheating. I would bet the house that any school with a lesser prominence than SC would have been given the death penalty ah la SMU.

    1. I think a better way to put it is:

      What would the punishment be if Boise St. and Ian Johnson had been accused of being payed for play?

      The smaller schools are much less likely to have the potential to get into this level of scandal, but you can bet the NCAA and the BCS pundits would LOVE to get their hands on a scandal involving a school like Utah or Boise St.. That’s where the real hammer would come down.

  9. Bill,

    Call me cynical. But my gut feeling tells me that these dirty, low-down, egg-sucking, no-good cheats at SC are going to find some way around this (with the NCAA conveniently turning a blind eye!) or pull some other dirty trick from the bottom-less pit of hell bag that Kiffin and his ilk possess.

    1. You’re Cynical.

      But no, seriously I do think this punishment IS USC finding some way around the death penalty that they rightly deserve.

      we can only hope Kiffin keeps up his antics from Tenn. if he does, then USC will practically force the NCAA into a real punishment (AKA death penalty).

      Two things:
      1. If that statement about allowing players with 2+years of eligibility left leave without sitting out a year is true, this punishment could be harsher than many realize.

      2. Even so, I think this is punishment is enough for now. Make no mistake, I would love nothing more than to see Troy razed again, but I would enjoy it more if it were to happen on the field.

  10. 1) As per the BC rivalry: I, too, cannot get over the ’93 game. I still have nightmares about that kick bending back and through the posts (it looked like it was going way wide right at first!). But the most disgusting moment in the rivalry has to be when the BC players trashed (some say literally defecated on) the ND visitors’ locker room. (Any one recall the year?) How one Catholic university can do that to another is beyond me!

    2) As per the SC NCAA “discipline”: What a joke! This is the proverbial slap on the wrist. No harm, no foul, I guess. Business as usual at NCAA headquarters. I totally agree with Jack. SC should have their national title stripped and gotten the “death penalty.” So be it. Time to rise up, ND, and reclaim this series! GO IRISH!!!

    1. SRF,
      I remember a game between ND and BC at Notre Dame Stadium where some doofus of a player from BC was tearing up chunks of sod at the end of the game(I guess he needed something for his girl friend to munch on)

      Did you notice that with all the NCAA’s punishment toward USC that they still get to keep all the money from their bowl games?

      1. I had some talks with some friends about that.

        I thought a better punishment would be just to make them pay back all revenue generated by professional players.

        My friend explained that by fining schools the NCAA would jeopardize it’s non-/not-for-profit status.

        my response was ‘perma-postseason ban with possibility of reduction if the money is donated to ‘

        but alass I digress, I’ll totally take a 2 season ban + loss of substantial #’s of scholarships.

        should make kiffin feel like he’s coaching the raiders again.

      2. As I understan it, the NCAA left the door open for those poor players that were hoodwinked into signing their Letters of Intent with USC.
        If they have 2 or more years of eligibility, they can transfer out without having to sit for a year.
        Because as the USC fan base has so vehemently expressed, that any punishment isn’t fair to the current players.

        So much for that top recruiting class.

      3. Shaz,

        I recall an incident a few years back where these low-down scumbags at BC actually trashed the visitors’ locker room at ND Stadium. I’ll see if I can find something on that online.

      4. I think I heard something about that.
        Wasn’t it that the BC players were confused by having running water and flushable toilets?

    2. That game is still fresh in my memory. I was there and was 11 years old at the time. ND had a major let down game, common after an emotional win like the one they had the week before – beating FSU in the “game of the century.”

      As poorly as ND played, they had a truly remarkable comeback in the 4th quarter. They were down 38-17 with 11 minutes left and everyone thought the game was over. But they stormed back and took the lead on a 2 point conversion…amazing comeback. Only to lose it on a field goal…heartbreaking. As my dad said at the time, it felt like a funeral when we were leaving the stadium. You could hear a pin drop.

      As a side note, I went to 2 college football games that year. BC vs. ND and Northwestern vs. BC at Dyke Stadium in Evanston at the very beginning of the year. The Wildcats upset nationally ranked BC and the fans stormed the field.

  11. I just read an article on Blue&gold.com which put things into perspective. USC will serve it’s little slap on the wrist and be back. Pete left because he cheated and he new if he stayed he would be under the microscope. They not only had Bush’s problem, but Cushing and Mathews with Steriod and HGH rumors, Sanchez remored to like to rape woman and other problems at that University. Plus Leinart taking ballroom dancing and a place on the LA strip. The NCAA didn’t do it’s job and is a joke. They should have gotten the SMU death penalty. It is a shame the NCAA doesn’t have a conduct policy like the NFL because some of these schools wouldn’t be able to field a starting 11.

  12. NCAA has come and hell has come with it!!

    USC…United Society of Cheaters!!

    So does this mean our losing streak is back down to just 5 games?

    1. DOI,

      If you loose to cheaters, is it really loosing?

      We didn’t loose OUR Honor
      We didn’t loose OUR Respect
      We didn’t loose OUR Pride
      We didn’t loose OUR History
      We didn’t loose OUR Future
      We didn’t loose OUR Tradition
      We didn’t loose OURSELVES

      1. shaz,

        lrn2spell.

        lose. not loose.

        I don’t mean to be a grammar nazi, but that just made my soul hurt a bit.

      2. And now we didn’t lose the Bush Push game, because he wasn’t even eligible to be on the field that day. So now what was the score, ND 31 USC 28.

        That’s how I can see it now.

  13. Want some good laughs? Checkout some of the USC blogs. Talk about whiners and criers. Most of these people truely believe that it is USC’s God given right to skirt the rules. They believe that they are priveledged and special, and the NCAA is to blame.
    It’s obvious to most outsiders who read what these people blog about, that USC has built a culture over the years that makes cheating and cutting corners acceptiable. They believe that everybody does it. They don’t care about their school’s reputation
    They have gotten away with too much over too long a period. Now they react like spoiled children.

    1. The commentary on the SC boards is like nourishment for a wounded soul.

      I don’t know which I enjoyed more, watching philly lose the stanley cup at home in ot or reading SC fans trying to brace for the impact of their cheating.

      This is turning into an AWESOME birthday.

      1. CONGRATULATIONS SEANTREL, KYLE, and ROBERT WOODS!!! You’ve made a great choice signing with a piece of shit coach, as well as the chance to watch the Rose Bowl and BCS games for the next four years from your condo that the boosters will no doubtedly be paying for. HAVE FUN WITH LAME KIFFIN…..and again…CONGRATULATIONS!!!!

  14. I have no problem with us playing BC, but it seems unbelievable and just plain stupid for two so called Catholic school to have such ‘hatred’ towards each other. Continuing to play will only foster this feeling. If people of the ‘same'(?) religion cannot get along, HOW IN THE WORLD can we expect others to. It was a mistake to renew this conflict UNLESS a feeling of true sportsmanship can take place BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the contest……….The fans ‘actions’ shown by both schools before, during and after the games speaks directly to my above comments.

    1. BC I’m sure has some class people. But the problem has been the low class worst stereotype of drunken Irish who seem to be big BC fans. It’s unfortunate. But you can’t blame ND when they go to Chestnut Hill and get beer bottles thrown at them or are spit on. We never did that. Basically it’s also, one sided. ND never really gives BC much thought. It’s not like they’ve ever achieved much or are considered. Other than Flutie, BC’s a second tier footnote in college football. And a bunch of classless fans. Let them clean up their act and we can talk about sportsmanship.

      1. If you feel compeled to be passive agressive, at least choose an argument with some sembleance of truth. IF BC fans, especially at Alumni, are to be criticized for anything, it is being to passive and quiet. Give it another shot, and this time try not to let your insecurity get in the way of the truth.

      2. I have been at every BC/ND game at Alumni field since 1991 and have never seen any BC fans spit or throw beer bottles at any ND fan nor any visiting team.
        GO EAGLES!!!!!

  15. Nine more years of Angry Eagle . . . . Anyway, glad to see the rival from the other coast will be getting a good spanking later this morning. Rumors are: 20 scholarships lost (not sure for how long), no bowl games for two years and at least a wipe out of wins for 2004, giving Ty a winning season in his final year at Notre Dame. Pete saw this one coming.

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