Staff Picks: Who Wins Notre Dame vs. Boise State & By How Much

Notre Dame (2-2) continues its uphill climb in hopes of finishing the year with another College Football Playoff appearance, and up next is another Fighting Irish first-time opponent, Boise State.

The Broncos are making their first trip to Notre Dame Stadium and obviously aren’t the same team that went to the College Football Playoff last season, largely on the back of star runner Ashton Jeanty.

Jeanty is now playing for former Notre Dame running backs coach Deland McCullough in the Las Vegas Raiders' backfield, and the Broncos are still looking to fill his production gap.

Notre Dame is a significant favorite entering the game. Do the Irish impress the masses again on Saturday in what is the first of three straight home games in October? Here’s what the Notre Dame On SI staff sees happening.

Nathan Erbach (2-2): Notre Dame 45, Boise State 20

I see this game similarly to the Arkansas game. The Notre Dame offense will likely be able to do what it wants for most of the game, and with how impressive they’ve looked to date, 45 might be too small of a number. Boise State is a better team than what they showed against South Florida, but they aren’t good enough to hang around with the Irish for four quarters. CJ Carr continues his ascent as one of the best quarterbacks in college football, and the Notre Dame defense continues to iron out its issues. I want to give the Broncos their respect, as they’ve been a great program for a long time now, but I don’t see this one being close at the end.

Mason Plummer (2-2): Notre Dame 48, Boise State 17

Notre Dame is turning the corner - quickly. This offense is downright ridiculous and the defense is finding its confidence. CJ Carr is going to continue to establish himself as one of the best quarterbacks in college football against Boise with a 300-yard, 3 touchdown performance. Tae Johnson gets a pick 6 too. This game is over at half time, 3rd stringers play the fourth quarter.

John Kennedy (2-2): Notre Dame 41, Boise State 20

Notre Dame is on a two-game winning streak as it heads back home to face Boise State, a program that made its name in the sport by being a big brand beater. The Broncos will not be afraid of Notre Dame Stadium; they will relish the opportunity to face the Irish in South Bend. That being said, it's the wrong time to face Notre Dame. The Irish offense is hot right now and will rack up gaudy run and pass numbers in this affair. As for the Notre Dame defense, there will be some frustrating moments, but this unit is improving weekly and, after the last two weeks, has gained some confidence. The Irish roll.

Jeff Feyerer (2-2): Notre Dame 41, Boise State 20

It’s nice to live in a world where I can confidently predict the Irish will score 40 each week and at the same time think to myself, “Maybe I’m undershooting this a little bit.” Under CJ Carr’s direction and the dynamic duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price the Irish offense is humming in a way we haven’t seen since the 2005 Charlie Weis squad. If we can all collectively get over the fact the Irish defense sans Kiser, Cross, Watts, Mills, and Morrison may never be as good as last year’s defense, independent of what you believe about defensive coordinator Chris Ash, the rest of this season, including Saturday should be very enjoyable.

Pete Fiutak (3-1): Notre Dame 41, Boise State 20

Once again, the Irish will have a few problems defensively as Boise State got its issues together over the last few weeks. Expect an interesting first half but when Notre Dame's offense settles in, it'll be fierce and quick as the Irish cruise to 3-2.

Nick Shepkowski (2-2): Notre Dame 44, Boise State 24

I'm not as sold on Notre Dame's defense after one solid showing against an Arkansas team that you could see quit, but I am certain of the Irish offense. This is one of the elite offensive units in the game and it will perform like that again. Boise State will have to keep up on the arm of Maddux Madsen and that's just not a winning formula.