Thanks for reading week eight of the Rivalry Name Rankings, brought to you this week by… good timing.

While making my initial list of rankings, I did not know I would be writing about this game for this weekend…but as it turns out, the No. 8 ranking is given out this Easter weekend. What is the name of the game? The Holy War.

This is a fairly young rivalry, as the first game was played in 1975 but only 16 total games have been held. The match-ups feature the Boston College Eagles and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, and the winner brings home not one but TWO trophies each year.

We’ll start off with some details on the rivalry. Notre Dame leads the all time series, 9-7-0, including a postseason game, as beat 19-18 in the 1983 Liberty Bowl (played in Memphis). The last game of the Holy War series was played in 1994, when Boston College won on the road by a point, 24-23. The game was played every year from 1992-2004, and the Eagles won the last four contests. But, they still are behind in the series, thanks to a pair of four game win streaks by Notre Dame. The Irish won the first four games (1975, 1983, 1987, 1992), and reeled off four in a row from 1995-1998.

There were no games in 2005 and 2006, but there are games scheduled annually for 2007-2010. Whoever wins the next game will get both the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl and the Ireland Trophy. The first trophy is a large crystal bowl name after a former coach for both BC and ND, and it is presented by the Notre Dame Club of Boston. The Ireland Trophy has been given to the winner since 1995, and it was created by the Notre Dame Student Government.

As far as the history of the name, it seems pretty self explanatory. That is why this game falls under the “Classic Name” category, because it is just so appropriate for a match-up between two religiously affiliated schools: Boston College is generally recognized as a Jesuit school, and Notre Dame is known to be a Catholic university. Also, I don’t want to mess with religion, so I’ll give it the credit it deserves and leave it at that.

A final note: lots of rivalries are called the Holy War, and if you look hard enough you can probably find five if not more. However, this game deserves to be called THE Holy War, based on the fact that both are prestigious schools with religious orientations and quality football programs.

That’s it for this week – if you have any comments for me, please post them on the message boards, using the link at the top. Thanks for reading, and check back next week. Go Wahoos.

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