Boston College fans have had this one circled on the calendar since August.

The Eagles (5-3, 4-3 Atlantic Coast) will host No. 2 Notre Dame (7-0, 6-0) Saturday afternoon for the programs’ 26th meeting—a series that, before the pandemic, was on pause until 2022.

After letting an 18-point lead slip through its grasp against Clemson two weeks ago, BC is getting another shot at a national title contender. The Irish, on the other hand, are coming off a potential season-defining win over those same Tigers.

It’s a rivalry game jam-packed with storylines. Let’s break it down.

It’s payback time for Phil Jurkovec: Notre Dame was Jurkovec’s dream school. He grew up watching the program and, as the No. 87 overall recruit in the Class of 2018, chose the Irish over an assortment of Power Five schools. It didn’t pan out like he envisioned. Jurkovec redshirted his freshman season before throwing 16 passes in mop-up duty the following year. He’s talked about regressing as a quarterback in South Bend, losing his love of football, and even contemplating switching positions. A week and a half after two-year starter Ian Book announced his return, Jurkovec entered the transfer portal.

Soon after, the 6-foot-5, 226-pound underclassman was on his way to Chestnut Hill. Jurkovec received his immediate-eligibility waiver on Aug. 4, and, two days later, the ACC revealed its 11-game schedule, which pitted BC against Notre Dame. The mid-November matchup is fast approaching, and Jurkovec, who now ranks fourth in the conference in passing yards per game, is set to face the signal caller he backed up for two years and the program he adored as a kid.

The 1993 parallels are uncanny: Every BC fan knows the date Nov. 20, 1993. It’s the second-most memorable day in program history (next to “Hail Flutie”). David Gordon drilled a 41-yard field goal in the final seconds to squash a 22-point Notre Dame comeback and give the Eagles their first and only win over the No. 1 team in the country. The previous week, the Irish knocked off top-ranked Florida State, 31-24. Notre Dame enters this weekend following another one-score victory over No. 1: The Irish pulled out an epic double overtime win against Clemson in Notre Dame Stadium this past Saturday, remaining undefeated in the process.

Just like 1993, Notre Dame is coming into the Holy War with legitimate national title aspirations. And, eerily similar to that season, the Irish are a year removed from a blowout victory over the Eagles. In 1992, Notre Dame handed BC its largest loss in the series, a 54-7 defeat. The climactic scene of Rudy was even filmed at halftime of the 47-point clobbering. Last year, the Eagles suffered their second-worst setback of the storied rivalry, a 40-7 loss in South Bend. BC is hoping to avenge that defeat with its first top-five win since 2002—one that would snap the Eagles’ seven-game losing streak to Notre Dame and shake up the college football landscape.

A fan-less but special Red Bandana Game: BC’s last ranked win came against USC in 2014 during the program’s first-annual Welles Crowther Red Bandana Game. The Eagles are aiming to end the six-year drought Saturday afternoon in the seventh edition of the honorary Red Bandana Game. Even though no fans will be allowed in Alumni Stadium, it’ll be a special day. BC will recognize Crowther’s family virtually and debut its new Red Bandana threads.

With paisley-patterned gloves, cleats, arm sleeves, jersey numbers, pant stripes, and shoulder pad accents, the Eagles’ all-white kit emphasizes the iconography of the red bandana, which Crowther used to protect himself from smoke while saving more than a dozen lives in the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks. The game will be broadcast on ABC with a star-studded crew. It will mark the second straight year that the event will take place in November.

Two programs with very different COVID-19 narratives: BC football has set the standard for COVID-19 prevention in college football. As of Saturday, the Eagles had administered about 6,500 tests to student-athletes, coaches, and staff members. The program’s only positive came back in late June after players returned to campus. Since it’s been weeks on weeks of negative results. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has struggled to contain the virus, both on the university level and within the program.

In August, the school experienced a COVID-19 outbreak, halting in-person classes for two weeks. Then, in late September, the football team saw a spike, leading to the postponement of its Sept. 24 game against Wake Forest. This past week, from Tuesday to Thursday, the university reported 138 positive COVID-19 tests. Days later, a student-dominated crowd of 11,000 stormed the field at Notre Dame Stadium after the Irish snapped Clemson’s 36-game regular season win streak. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters Monday that he isn’t overly concerned about the risk of COVID-19 spreading from the post-game celebration, citing that students who spilled onto the field were tested during the week.

Hafley looking to notch his first signature win: Jeff Hafley has come close to delivering the Eagles faithful a potential season-defining win twice this season. First, BC drew within a game-tying two-point conversion of a 12th-ranked North Carolina team. Then, two weeks ago, the Eagles had No. 1 Clemson on the ropes. Neither resulted in victories, however, both games showcased BC’s impressive development in year one of the Hafley era. The former Ohio State co-DC has the Eagles believing they can win marquee matchups.

From 2016-19, BC lost to ranked opponents by an average of 30 points. Aside from the Eagles’ self-implosion against Virginia Tech in October, BC has looked anything but overmatched against its ranked foes in 2020. But Hafley doesn’t put stock in moral victories. Saturday is another chance for him to get BC over the hump. The Eagles’ five wins have all been against teams that are currently .500 or worse. A victory on Saturday wouldn’t just turn heads. It would convince fans outside of Chestnut Hill that Hafley’s Eagles are a top-tier ACC team.