SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – Notre Dame wants to protect its home turf against Boston College.

The 24th-ranked Fighting Irish (5-2) have not only lost three straight to the Eagles (4-2), they’ve lost two of their last three at Notre Dame Stadium to BC and watched as their players celebrated by tearing up chunks of turf.

“That bothers the heck out of me and I know it bothers some other guys,” Irish defensive end Kyle Budinscak said.

The Irish also took it as a sign of disrespect that the Eagles trashed the visitors locker room two years ago at Notre Dame Stadium after beating Notre Dame 14-7, the first loss for then-first-year coach Tyrone Willingham after opening his Irish career with eight straight wins.

“I look at it as a form of disrespect,” defensive end Justin Tuck said.

Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka said the celebrations weren’t planned.

“The last couple of years we’ve played them things have kind of gotten out of hand, but this is a very emotional game,” he said.

“We go into every game and pour our hearts out on the field and what happens, happens. We try to keep everything under control. We don’t go into any game and say we’re going to do this and this after the game. But sometimes things do get out of hand.”

The Irish aren’t the only team upset with how they’ve been treated in recent years. Some Eagles took it as a sign of disrespect that the Irish wore green jerseys for the game two years ago.

“I think that’s part of what makes it a great rivalry,” Kiwanuka said. “Any time you win or you lose to a team in a game this important you know there are going to be a lot of emotions involved.”

The two schools are like a pair of siblings who can’t get along. The only two Division 1-A Catholic schools seem to get under the skin of one another a little too easily.

“There seems to be that competition of who’s the best Catholic school or who is the top Catholic program in the country. Obviously, we don’t like that a whole lot. We like to think we’re the best, and obviously they do too,” Budinscak said. “There’s certainly some strong feelings on both sides.”

Some Irish fans get mad at even the mention of BC being a rival, saying the only thing the Eagles are known for is Doug Flutie and upsetting the Irish from time to time.

Even some Notre Dame players are reluctant to call it a rivalry.

“I don’t know if it’s a rivalry, but it’s definitely a big game,” linebacker Derek Curry said.

Eagles coach Tom O’Brien knows the Notre Dame game is big around the Boston College campus, saying it creates a special feeling around campus. He isn’t sure Notre Dame feels the same way.

“I still heard we’re more of a nuisance than a rival,” O’Brien said.

They are definitely a nuisance to Irish players when they tear up the Notre Dame sod, but Willingham said he knows why they do it.

“Everyone who comes here wants a piece of Notre Dame’s turf. It’s one of the most historic and tradition-laden stadiums in the country. You’ve got people who drive thousands of miles just to come look at the stadium. So you can understand why teams want a part of the turf,” he said. “You know how you solve that problem? You win.”

It’s called protecting the home turf.

AP-ES-10-22-04 1427EDT