Should Notre Dame be the home team at Fenway?

But Thursday night at approximately 6:30 p.m., an NBC spokesman passed along word that Flutie indeed would be in the booth at Fenway Park Saturday night.

“There’s the obvious Irish heritage Notre Dame shares with Boston, but part of the reason we went green on green is because they’re playing at Fenway Park, which is known for one thing, The Green Monster”, says Clement. Will Fuller’s big-play ability will be crucial in taking a few pressure off the short-passing and running games, and Torii Hunter Jr. and Chris Brown should be able to make a few plays underneath because of that. Senior linebacker Steven Daniels paces Boston College in that regard, racking up 70 tackles and 15 tackles for loss on the season. The Fighting Irish have won the last four meetings.

“It’s a great time of year for Boston to get an injection of spending impact”, says David O’Donnell of the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The Eagles average just 276.6 yards of offense per game, and they’ll need a much better output to keep pace with a Fighting Irish team averaging 36.2 points per contest. “I said, ‘Guys, what are you doing?’ They said, ‘We’re playing catch.’ I said, ‘I told you we want to save that ball.’ They said, ‘We thought it was to play catch with.’ So that killed that trophy”. That’s to be expected for a broadcaster that prepares for his games just as thoroughly as he did during his playing days.

“It’s insane; that brings so much more passion and energy behind it”, said Eagles junior defensive back Justin Simmons.

It will be the first football game played at Fenway since the then-Boston Patriots concluded their 1968 season at the venue. “Emotions are high and I can’t wait”.

The pitcher’s mound and infield dirt are gone, replaced with chunks of sod, though the 37-foot-high Green Monster remains in left field equipped for service as a scoreboard.

“Now I get to hit people instead of hit baseballs”, he joked.

The former BC quarterback is in his first season with NBC’s Notre Dame broadcast team, and there’s no doubt he’s had Saturday circled on the calendar since getting the job.

But they aren’t complaining. Boston College will wear solid gold-colored helmets and the trousers are very close in color to the team’s look from the ’80s. Despite the seas of Notre Dame fans that will invade the home of the Red Sox on Saturday night, they’re hoping for a home atmosphere. BC ranks 121st in the nation in scoring (17.3 points per game) and dead last (128th) in total offense, averaging just 277 yards per game. They’re led by sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, who has thrown for 16 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards, rushing for eight additional scores. “As a valuable colleague, teammate, and friend, we know what an important role Doug’s parents played in his life, ” Flood said. We’ve got to try to find explosive plays, so that’s why [senior running back] C.J. Prosise needs to be in this game.

The Eagles have largely struggled all season, and head into Saturday at 3-7. Brian was born in Everett, Massachusetts, raised in Chelsea, later moved to Tewksbury, attended St. John’s Prep and then went on to play football at Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts.