Noah Cahill
Notre Dame put on a dominant display in Fayetteville, giving hope to Irish faithful that a College Football Playoff berth might still be possible. Boise State anticipated a step back after losing Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty, but after a loss to South Florida in their season opener, the Broncos have rattled off three straight and look much closer to their 2024 selves. They bring a strong offense to South Bend that has put up 45-plus performances in all three wins.
Notre Dame’s defense passed the test against a high-powered Razorbacks offense that boasted numerous top-10 metrics. Despite surrendering a fair share of chunk plays, they stood strong in the red zone and turned Arkansas over twice. Freshman CJ Carr and the Irish offense, however, gave them plenty of margin for error. I foresee a similar script on Saturday, with the wealth of weapons being too much for the Broncos to handle. Notre Dame will get out on the front foot early at home and won’t look back.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 56, Boise State: 17
Chris Dailey
Just a season ago, Boise State was a College Football Playoff team. Led by the Heisman trophy runner-up Ashton Jeanty, much of the country rallied around the underdog Broncos before they were dismantled by Penn State. Unfortunately for Boise State, last year is irrelevant. Notre Dame found that out the hard way against Miami and Texas A&M. The Broncos did against South Florida (USF).
Food for thought, USF beat Boise State 34-7. USF then lost to Miami 49-12. Notre Dame lost to Miami 27-24. Through transitive comparison, the Irish should beat the Broncos by 34 points. Now, I’m no mathematician, but that seems fair. Notre Dame’s offense is everything we thought it could be and more. The defense? Not amazing, but certainly improved upon from the first two weeks of action. Notre Dame knows it controls its destiny, and that’s a scary thought for their opponents. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price will score two touchdowns apiece. The Irish will win this one convincingly.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 48, Boise State: 17
Ben Hicks
I’m now 1-3 in game picks on the year, and I wasn’t particularly close last week. It seems like Notre Dame’s defense has begun to figure things out, so hopefully I can follow their lead. Turning the page to Saturday, Boise State is a very talented Group of 5 program, but this isn’t the same Bronco bunch that made national noise a year ago. Since opening the year with an embarrassing performance at South Florida, the Bronco offense has averaged 49 points a game, albeit against Eastern Washington, Air Force and Appalachian State.
Boise State’s defense is flawed, however, which is not a recipe for success against the high-powered Irish attack. Bronco boss Spencer Danielson applauded Notre Dame’s CJ Carr as “a future first-round draft pick,” and Boise State simply doesn’t have the talent to slow down Carr, Jeremiah Love, Jadarian Price and the nation’s best offensive line. While the Irish defense will be tested once again, Notre Dame’s talent and motivation should lead them to a third consecutive blowout victory.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 52, Boise State: 24
Henry Lytle
I will give myself a little credit for having more faith than most in the Notre Dame defense to hold the Razorbacks well below their season average and win handily. Since I was backpacking abroad for the A&M and Purdue games, I’m now sitting at .500 on the season and hope to enter the positive just as Notre Dame does Saturday. While this Boise State team certainly does not possess the offensive firepower of Arkansas or dynamic dual-threat quarterback play, it still can be dangerous.
Without Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty, the Broncos have struggled to replicate the offensive statistics of last season and are relying heavily on throwing the ball downfield. While the Irish pass defense has struggled, I don’t see the skill on the outside similar to Miami or Texas A&M that gave the Irish problems before. This is a huge opportunity for defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s defense to improve and find ways to effectively rush the passer.
On the other side of the ball, freshman CJ Carr is up to second in quarterback rating, and the running attack has been efficient at finding the endzone. Considering that stopping the run is the weakest part of Boise State’s defense, I think the Irish will have no problem starting the first half scorching hot, similar to a week ago in Fayetteville. I foresee a blowout and another step toward defensive improvement as the Irish set their sights toward NC State and, more importantly, USC in two weeks.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 49, Boise State: 10
Tyler Reidy
This is an interesting one for Notre Dame. You’ll have a pretty good “Irish Wear Green” environment on a bright, sunny day with a 2024 College Football Playoff quarterfinalist in town. And although we thought after Week One that Boise State had taken a massive step back, the Broncos have looked much closer to last year’s form during their active three-game win streak.
Traditionally, Marcus Freeman-led teams have struggled against Group of Five opponents, a category that Boise State falls under. Beyond the obvious losses to Marshall and Northern Illinois, the Irish won in slightly uncomfortable fashion against Central Michigan in 2023 and Miami (Ohio) last year. That said, Notre Dame still won those games by a combined 49 points, and I don’t think it plays down to Boise State this weekend. With another big day from the running backs and a breakout showing from Jaden Greathouse, the Irish roll for a third consecutive week.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 41, Boise State: 17
Claire Watson
My predictions have not been anywhere close so far this season, other than Arkansas, but even then, I was quite a bit off on the score. The Irish put on a show last weekend as they trampled Arkansas. I see them doing the same with Boise State this weekend. Leading a seemingly unstoppable offense, freshman CJ Carr rounded out his performance in Fayetteville with 22 completed passes for a career high of 354 yards and four touchdowns. Carr also posted the first 294 passing yards in the first half of the game, the most from a Notre Damequarterback since 2008.
While a talented team, the Broncos will have to watch out for Carr as they prepare for Saturday’s game. That’s not even mentioning Jeremiyah Love, who has re-entered the Heisman conversation with his last two games. The junior accounted for four touchdowns in the first half against Arkansas.
Should Notre Dame keep utilizing their weapons, particularly the strong dynamic duo of their freshman quarterback and junior running back, I foresee the team being successful in the game against Boise State.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 56, Boise State: 14
