Marcus Freeman announces safety Brandon Joseph is 'doubtful' vs Boston College

Notre Dame will once again likely be without senior starting safety Brandon Joseph this week as the Fighting Irish take on lowly Boston College. Notre Dame beat writer Tyler Horka reported Thursday that Joseph is doubtful to play against BC. Here was the tweet containing that update:

“Notre Dame senior safety Brandon Joseph is doubtful to play Saturday.”

That wasn’t the only news from Horka. He had another injury update, this time more positive, to share regarding another senior defense player. Here was report No. 2 on linebacker JD Bertrand:

“Notre Dame senior linebacker JD Bertrand is ‘100% a go’ vs. Boston College.“

So, one guy likely not to play while another is certain to take the field, barring any crazy surprises. ND shouldn’t need its defense at full health to take down an ACC basement dweller. But they’ll definitely need Joseph back for the USC contest next weekend.

Notre Dame’s defense has been fairly stout this season but the loss of two of its top playmakers for any extended period of time would certainly take a toll.

The Fighting Irish currently rank No. 26 nationally in total defense (332.0 yards per game allowed), No. 27 in passing defense (193.8 yards per game), No. 40 in scoring defense (22.3 points per game allowed) and No. 53 in run defense (138.2 yards per game).

Getting JD Bertrand and maybe (but don’t hold your breath) Brandon Joseph back from injury quickly would go a long way toward keeping those figures trending in the right direction.

Notre Dame is set to host Boston College on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC before traveling to No. 8 USC in the season finale.