Notre Dame Hardly on Upset Alert vs Boston College: ESPN FPI Prediction

For Notre Dame fans of a certain age, the name Boston College should come with a trigger warning of sorts.

The Golden Eagles twice ruined perfect seasons for Notre Dame, knocking off the Irish in the final week of the 1993 season, a week after the Irish had beaten No. 1 Florida State to take over the spot themselves. Notre Dame would go on to finish the year 11-1 and No. 2 nationally, thanks to that loss.

Nine years later Tyrone Willingham had an upstart Notre Dame team unbeaten headed into November in his first year on campus. Boston College again walked into Notre Dame Stadium and stunned the Irish 14-7, and things never got back on track for Willingham.

Notre Dame vs Boston College: Hardly a Threatening Bunch of Birds

This Boston College team is a far cry from the one that was led by Tom Coughlin and Glenn Foley that wrecked Notre Dame's 1993 campaign. That Eagles team was 7-2, in the midst of a seven-game winning streak, and ranked 17th nationally when it invaded South Bend.

This one will get the advantage of playing at home in Chestnut Hill, but is just 1-7 overall and 0-5 in the ACC. Its only victory to date has come against Fordham back on August 30.

As bad as things have gone for Boston College, it did keep things semi-interesting last week at No. 19 Louisville, ultimately falling to the Cardinals 38-24.

How much of a warning should Notre Dame enter Saturday afternoon's game with against Boston College? If you're to trust the computer projections out there, then the answer is a resounding "not much".

ESPN FPI Prediction for Notre Dame vs Boston College

ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI) has its odds out for Notre Dame's trip to Boston College and it doesn't see much of a contest. The formula gives Notre Dame a 97.2% chance of earning a victory.

The FPI currently ranks Notre Dame as the nation's fifth-best team, while Boston College checks in all the way at 98. That gives some of the reason Notre Dame is currently listed as a 28.5-point road favorite on Saturday.

ESPN FPI Predicts Notre Dame's Remaining Schedule

The matchup predictor is also available for Notre Dame's four other remaining games, although it will change on a week-to-week basis. It gives Notre Dame the following chances of winning each of those games:

Nov. 1 at Boston College: 97.2%
Nov. 8 vs. Navy: 96.6%
Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh: 78.6%
Nov. 22 vs, Syracuse: 96.5%
Nov. 29 at Stanford: 94.6%

The formula gives Notre Dame a 68.2% chance of winning out, and currently gives the Irish just a 30.4% chance of making the College Football Playoff, the 14th best of anyone nationally.