U.S. Army All-American Bowl alumni by NFL team

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be seeking their third straight-up win in as many weeks against opponents from the ACC when they visit the Boston College Eagles on Saturday as 16.5-point betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

No. 4 Notre Dame held on to its position in the College Football Playoff rankings with a 28-7 win over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last weekend, improving their SU record to 9-1 on the season heading into Saturday night’s Fighting Irish vs. Eagles betting matchup at Fenway Park.

While it would appear that the Fighting Irish hold a clear edge in the CFP race they remain closely trailed in the rankings by a pair of undefeated squads, No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 Oklahoma State.

The 10-0 Hawkeyes are double-digit favorites in their meeting this week with the Purdue Boilermakers, and can remain in consideration for a shot at the championship by posting big wins this week and in their meeting next week with Nebraska.

The Cowboys face a tougher road, with remaining dates against a pair of ranked squads. After taking on No. 10 Baylor on Saturday, in a matchup pegged as a pick’em at the sportsbooks, OSU hosts No. 7 Oklahoma next week in a showdown at Boone Pickens Stadium that could potentially crown this season’s Big 12 champions.

Faced with such a fluid postseason situation, Notre Dame should be highly motivated to reverse their recent misfortune at the sportsbooks, where they are a disappointing 1-2 against the spread in their last three and a worrisome 2-7 ATS in their last nine as double-digit chalk.

However, the Irish will be facing a Boston College squad that has struggled mightily during a current six-game SU skid which has dropped them to 3-7 SU on the season.

Offense has been a huge problem for the Eagles, who have mustered 10 or fewer points in five of their losses this year, and have failed to post an ATS win in six home dates with FBS teams according to the OddsShark College Football Database.

History is also on the side of Notre Dame, who have won four straight SU against the Eagles. However, they have failed to reward bettors in their last two meetings with BC, both while favored by 20 or more points.

A decisive win this week would likely ensure Notre Dame controls its own destiny going into its season finale against No. 11 Stanford, whose national championship hopes were all but extinguished by last week’s stunning 38-36 loss to Oregon.