After beating Boston College on Saturday, the Irish improved to 8-3 on the season, winning for the eighth time in nine games.

They finally broke into the BCS Top 25 at #22, but they must win at sixth-ranked Stanford next Saturday and then hope that they move up eight spots to have a remote shot of getting into a BCS game.

That is very unlikely, but the Irish say there is still a lot to play for against the Cardinal.

Captain Harrison Smith says, “It’s huge. It’s kind of like the finale for the season, and to go against a team like Stanford, it’s kind of a platform for us to show everybody how far we’ve come, and we definitely look forward to it.”

Stanford is 10-1. Kickoff next Saturday is set for 8:00 p.m. in Palo Alto.