CHESTNUT HILL - A report on Wednesday morning from The Boston Globe surfaced that Boston College football head coach Frank Spaziani was expected to name true freshman Chase Rettig as the team's starting quarterback for Saturday night's game at Alumni Stadium against Notre Dame (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
However, in his chat with reporters before Tuesday's practice, Spaziani said that he had not made a decision as to who his starter will be.
"Probably, or maybe before," Spaziani said when asked if his quarterback choice would be a game-time decision. "Every day, you evaluate everybody. Today is Wednesday, and we'll evaluate (the quarterbacks) again and move on."
Spaziani announced on his weekly teleconference on Sunday afternoon that sophomore starting quarterback Dave Shinskie would not be the team's starter come next Saturday.
"There's a lot of stuff that goes into it," said Spaziani about the decision-making process. "It wasn't one game, it wasn't one play. There's a lot of decision making. And we felt we needed to get better in that position now and for the future."
Shinskie had kept the Eagles in contention for the Atlantic Division title last season, completing 149-of-288 passes for 2,049 yards, 15 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
However, Shinskie has performed way below expectation this season, going 39-for-72 with 529 yards, four touchdowns and four picks.
"I don't think he was happy about it," Spaziani said about Shinskie's reaction to the move. "I wouldn't be either."
It's a scenario that Spaziani is all too familiar with.
"We had to do it last year," said Spaziani, alluding to the decision to start Shinskie, Marscovetra or Justin Tuggle at quarterback prior to last season's match-up with the Fighting Irish in South Bend . "We'd prefer not to have that situation, but sometimes what you prefer and what needs to be done aren't the same."
Yet this time around, the Eagles' coach has several players to choose from, as after last season's painful 20-16 loss against Notre Dame, Tuggle decided to transfer.
"The difference is, (now) we have options," Spaziani said. "Last year, we didn't have options (at quarterback)."
With news that the job is still up for grabs, sophomore Mike Marscovetra and the aforementioned Rettig will continue to battle for the job.
However, Rettig took the majority of snaps with the first team on Tuesday during practice, creating speculation that he will be Spaziani's choice come Saturday evening.
Rettig, who has never played a single down in a college football game, enrolled at Boston College in January of 2010. He participated in spring practices and played in the Under Armour All-American Game at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL on January 2nd.
At San Clemente High School in California, Rettig was named to the All-South Coast League first team during his senior season after a stellar campaign in which he completed 157 passes for 1,748 yards and 18 touchdowns.
The original plan for Rettig, as stated by the Eagles' media relations department, was to redshirt him. However, after problematic play at the quarterback position, they may have lost that option.
Even still, Spaziani insists that Rettig was an option right from the start.
"He was in the conversation from the beginning of the season," said Spaziani. "Nobody is permanently anything now until we get to a certain point of the season."
As for Marscovetra, who is 21-for-35 for 227 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in his career, he has had the benefit of playing in all three games this season.
Marscovetra did not have a standout performance in any of the Eagles' three games this season. His best game came against Virginia Tech back in 2009 when he completed 10-of-16 passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Regardless of who Spaziani choses, the ultimate goal remains the same.
"Always winning now is important," said Spaziani. "But it's a fine line."
Even with the planned switch to Rettig or Marscovetra, there is no guaranteeing that the transition will be smooth.
"I can't predict the future," Spaziani said. "Again, there's different factors that go into it. When you go on stage in Broadway, you have Hartford and Buffalo and all those place where you worked your act out."
Unfortunately for Rettig and Marscovetra, Weber State and Kent State were Hartford and Buffalo while Notre Dame represents Broadway.
In other words, one will be thrown into the fire (under a national spotlight, no less) and will be expected to perform at a high level in the biggest game of their career.
After last season's 20-16 victory, Notre Dame leads the all-time series 10-9 against Boston College. The winner of Saturday's meeting will be awarded two trophies, the Frank Leahy Memorial Bowl and the Ireland Trophy.
The two are the only Catholic schools in the FBS that play football, and they certainly have had their fair share of memorable moments.
Luckily for us, the two schools have renewed their rivalry through the 2019 season.
Thankfully, fans won't have to wait until then to see a match up for the ages. That being said, Boston College and Notre Dame will undoubtedly put on a show Saturday night.