Brian Kelly needed a win last Saturday in a big way. It was a nationally televised game between two ranked teams and Kelly, knowing he is on the hot seat in South Bend, needed a win in a big game and he didn't get it - again.

Kelly's time at Notre Dame, I believe, is in a downward spiral. The only way he can save his job is go undefeated the rest of the way. And that won't happen.ND's defense came of age last week, in fact, the Irish "D" gave the offense two chances late in the game to pull out a win, but the offense failed, in the 20-19 defeat to Georgia.Give the Bulldogs credit, their defense was great, choking off the Irish run game. But the Irish apparently had no answer. Georgia lined up defensively challenging ND to throw the football. But the Irish still kept trying to run the football, up the middle or off tackle, and it resulted in little success.Note this, ND's top receiver, Equanimeous St. Brown, touched the ball just twice for 16 yards. Kelly and his offensive staff also apparently forgot about the Irish tight ends.ND had over 400 rushing yards against Temple and just 55 last week.In all it was not a good night for the offensive line. ND has a big, an basically experienced front line, but it was man-handled by Georgia. It was not a shining moment for these linemen.But ND must move on from the loss as they face an old nemesis today in Boston College.The Eagles and Irish have hooked up in some classic battles over the years and BC, more than once, has spoiled an Irish season.BC enters the game at 1-1, with a win in the opener over Northern Illinois, 23-20; and a blowout loss last week to Wake Forest, 34-10.BC enters the game with low ratings nationally for its defense and offense.The game time for the BC contest has been changed to 3:30 p.m. from the original noon start. ESPN will televised it nationally with the kickoff about 3:40 p.m. ND leads the series with BC, 14-9. The last game between the two schools was in 2015, a ND win, 19-16.IRISH NOTES:The 266 yards ND managed last week against Georgia was the fewest by a ND offense since 2013 game against Michigan State, save the hurricane game with NC State on a soggy field which the Irish lost, 10-3....Lineman Mike McGlinchey took the blame for the hit quarterback Brandon Wimbush took late in the game that caused the fumble that sealed the win for Georgia. He missed the block on the charging George defensive end that delivered the fumble-causing hit....The offensive line has gotten a lot of heat from the South Bend press. After pushing Temple all over the field, the line took a step backward against Georgia. Again, you can't dismiss the fine defense Georgia has, but the Irish offensive line matched up with the big defensive line of the Bulldogs and the Irish lost the battle in the trenches....Some game stats. Wimbush finished with 20 completions in 40 attempts for 211 yards. Josh Adams rushed for 54 yards on 19 carries. Receiving Adams six catches for 60, Cameron Smith 54 on four and Chris Finke 36 on three....Nyles Morgan and Jay Hayes led the defense with four and five solo tackles respectively....Georgia fans flooded the ND stadium. They used up the 8,400 tickets given them and added another 26,000. Half of ND stadium was Georgia red, which did not sit well with a lot of ND alumni, who were disappointed that ND fans would sell their tickets for the big prices Georgia fans offered....As I mentioned, the defense plaed well and a stat to help prove that. Georgia had 16 drives in the game with eight ending in three-and-outs. Two others ended by turnovers....Senior wide receiver Freddy Canteen is listed as doubtful today. He suffered a shoulder injury in the Georgia game. Junior Chris Finke is listed as the starting slot receiver for today....As I mentioned St. Brown only had two catches in the game as ND's leading receiver. Kelly had this to say about that. "We targeted him 20 times," Kelly said of last Saturday's Georgia game. "It's something that we have to be aware of." No kidding....Wimbush is at No. 106 nationally in passing efficiency after two starts (108.7), one slot ahead of former teammate and current Florida QB Malik Zaire (106.7)....The most surprising difference in the BC team ND faces today and the one it beat on 2015 is offensive tempo. The 2015 Eagles team was dead last in offensive plays per game among the 128 FBS teams that season and was up slightly in 2016 to 111th. Through two games this season, BC has averaged 82 plays with neither game going into overtime. That ranks as No. 9 nationally....A question on the mind of the media is what happened to running back Dexter Williams. In the Temple game, with limit action, he managed to get 124 yards on six carries and a touchdown. Last week he didn't get a touch. Kelly sidestepped the question when asked about Williams. The South Bend Tribune ran an article this week listing some reasons why Williams isn't getting playing time such as not enough touches to go around, attitude problem or his work in practices during the week. No clear answer, however....Freshman Jonathan Doerer, who was going to handle the kickoffs for ND this season but was sidelined a week before the opener with Temple due to leg fatigue, may get a chance today. He has traveled with the team to Boston and Kelly said that he had practiced this week and could be used. Extra point and field goal kicker Justin Yoon took over for Doerer in the first two games with four of his 14 kickoffs resulting in touchbacks....Anytime you lose a game the next one becomes very important. That is the situation for the Irish today. ND must show it can bounce back and still make a run for a good season. It is often said, if you are going to lose, lose early because he have the rest of the season to make up for it. ND is favored by 13 today. In my preseason picks I went with the Irish in this one and still think ND will be up for the game because Kelly knows a loss today could lead to a losing season and his departure from South Bend.