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No matter the records, the ‘Holy War’ between Boston College and Notre Dame remains a heated football rivalry
As he reflects 23 years later, former Boston College standout Jeremy Trueblood isn’t entirely sure what compelled him and a teammate to rip up the Notre Dame grass that day.
Now, he wonders what they were thinking. Back then, they found it hysterical.
After the Eagles defeated the Fighting Irish, 14-7, in yet another captivating Holy War clash, Trueblood and his sidekick trimmed the grass with scissors, brought it home, and kept it in their dorm room for months.
For Trueblood, it was personal. The Indianapolis native initially considered playing for his home team, but when he visited Boston, he felt a genuine connection with the people that Notre Dame didn’t provide.
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“I had a friend, once I got to the NFL, he called us ‘Backup College,’ ” said Trueblood, a 6-foot-9-inch, 330-pound offensive lineman who went on to have an eight-year NFL career, mostly with the Buccaneers. “Stuff like that always [ticked] me off. There’s always that little brother aspect to it, but we felt equal to them.”
For a while, the Eagles and Fighting Irish were exactly that. After Notre Dame took five of six meetings from 1995-2000, BC pieced together a streak of six straight from 2001-08 with players such as Trueblood and quarterback Brian St. Pierre as catalysts.
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Since then, Notre Dame has won nine straight (with one vacated), scoring 40-plus points in each of the last four matchups. As the sputtering Eagles (1-7) welcome the No. 12 Fighting Irish (5-2) to town Saturday at 3:30 p.m., it’s a chance for BC to temporarily brush aside its woes.
“It’s the Holy War,” said BC running back Jordan McDonald. “If you don’t know about it, you don’t need to be at BC.”
BC and Notre Dame are the nation’s only two Catholic schools at the FBS level. Alumni of both schools have stories about why they chose one and why the other is a joke. The animosity is real, and the action on the field has encapsulated how much the bragging rights mean — at least it did for a while.
After the Irish won the first three meetings, No. 17 BC stunned No. 1 Notre Dame, 41-39, on a 41-yard field goal from David Gordon as time expired in November 1993.
Each side had its moments of glory from there, until St. Pierre and Co. started a chain reaction in 2001.
“You just knew it was a little bit different that week,” said St. Pierre, now the football coach at St. John’s Prep. “I think we really looked forward to measuring up. We always felt like they thought we were second-class citizens maybe, a little bit, and we didn’t feel that way. We thought we could hang with them and beat them, and we did.”
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St. Pierre’s junior year, at home, BC scored to snatch one away at the last second. The next season, when Trueblood took the grass, St. Pierre secured another signature triumph to finish with three wins against the Irish.
“It’s just something that you’re proud of,” St. Pierre said.
Since 2008, calling the rivalry one-sided would be an understatement. The Irish have outscored the Eagles, 285-123, including a 44-0 beatdown in 2022. BC hasn’t won eight-plus games in the last 16 seasons, while Notre Dame has only won fewer than eight games twice in that span.
But make no mistake, this is still a heated rivalry. BC coach Bill O’Brien and his staff have educated the players on the importance of the Holy War. O’Brien, who worked at Notre Dame for 24 to 36 hours in 2001, before going back to Georgia Tech, said he has “great respect” for the school.
“There have been some huge games that have affected college football,” O’Brien said. “I believe our guys really know what it’s about to be a part of this rivalry. It’s a rare rivalry.”
O’Brien said every school is different, and he doesn’t necessarily look at Notre Dame’s model as a blueprint for what he hopes BC will become. His focus is more on the game itself, and he knows the Eagles have a steep challenge against a formidable foe.
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This year, Notre Dame started slowly before winning five straight. With Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price each averaging 6-plus yards per carry, up against a porous Eagles run defense, it could be a long night if BC tackles the way it has most of the season.
The Eagles are 28½-point underdogs and are outmatched in nearly every area, but the way they look at it, all the pressure is on Notre Dame. BC can play without any inhibition as it tries to find one signature moment in a season gone wrong.
“I think it would shut down the city,” said BC wide receiver Reed Harris. “Just give everybody a great feeling going into the weekend. Give the fans another opportunity to rush the field. It’s been too long since they’ve done that.”
They believe all it takes is one magical day, in front of a packed crowd, with thousands more watching on ESPN, to swing the pendulum back in their direction.
Not just against Notre Dame, but for the program as a whole.
“It’s going to be a war between us two,” said BC defensive back Carter Davis. “Let the best man win.”
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