College Football Game of the Week:
3 NOTRE DAME (10-0)
vs
12 SYRACUSE (8-2)
Yankee Stadium, New York, NY
2:30 PM EST
My what a game we have in store from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon. The perfect 10-0 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame head over to the Big Apple to tangle with 8-2 Syracuse, who comes into the game flying high as of late following 4 consecutive victories since back-to-back one-possession losses @ Clemson and @ Pittsburgh. The Irish have been much better offensively since an early change to Ian Book at QB, and he has delivered to the tone of nearly 2,000 yards passing and 15 TD to just 4 INTs. Book has plenty at his disposal with 3 backs combining to rush for just under 1,500 yards on the ground and 19 TDs.
It's not just the offense that has been playing better as of late, as the defense seems to be rounding into form as well. There wasn't much to take away from last week's trouncing of Florida State in West Bend as the Seminoles have been absolutely dreadful this year. The Irish have played well in notable games against Stanford and @ Virginia Tech, and struggled mightily against Ball State, Vanderbilt, and Pittsburgh. So, which Notre Dame will show up in Yankee Stadium on Saturday?
Meanwhile, the Syracuse Orange are enjoying a banner year, and have had a penchant for major upsets over the past couple of seasons. In 2016, it was a shocker at home over a highly ranked Virginia Tech, and last year it was a major upset of Clemson - handing the Tigers their only loss of the regular season. This year, the Orange nearly did it to Clemson again, this time in Death Valley, leading for most of the game, before bowing out to the Tigers, 23-27. Despite the 8-2 record, the Orange are still looking for that upset in 2018, and tomorrow seems to provide the perfect kind of opportunity. So, before the big game kicks off, we've got you covered with all that you'd want to know about both squads below, including statistical leaders, and key wins and losses for both:
NOTRE DAME
Key Wins -
vs Michigan (9-1) W 24-17
vs Stanford (6-4) W 38-17
vs Pittsburgh (6-4) W 19-14
@ Northwestern (6-4) W 31-21
Key Losses -
None
SYRACUSE
Key Wins -
@ Western Michigan (6-5) W 55-42
vs N.C. State (6-3) W 51-41
Key Losses -
@ Clemson (10-0) L 23-27
@ Pittsburgh (6-4) L 37-44 OT
Statistical Leaders:
NOTRE DAME
QB Ian Book 1824yds, 15TD/4INT; 74.5 comp%; 170.0 rating
Dexter Williams 770 rush yds, 10TD, 6.8ypc
Tony Jones Jr. 367 rush yds, 3TD
Jafar Armstrong 359 rush yds, 6TD; 12 rec, 151 rec yds
Miles Boykin 44 rec, 654 rec yds, 8TD
Chase Claypool 37 rec, 460 rec yds, 3TD
Te'von Coney 87 tot tkls, 8.5FL, 3.0sks, 1INT, 1FR
Khalid Kareem 33 tot tkls, 11.0FL, 5.5sks, 2FF
Jerry Tillery 27 tot tkls, 7.5FL, 6.0sks, 2FF
Jalen Elliot 54 tot tkls, 1.0FL, 0.5sk, 3INT, 6PD, 1FF
SYRACUSE
QB Eric Dungey 2193yds, 14TD/5INT; 60.0 comp%; 132.3 rating
(690 rush yds, 12TD rush)
Moe Neal 712 rush yds, 5TD; 10 rec, 59 rec yds
Dontae Strickland 381 rush yds, 6TD; 12 rec, 80 rec yds
Jarveon Howard 298 rush yds, 6TD
Jamal Custis 42 rec, 748 rec yds, 5TD
Sean Riley 54 rec, 603 rec yds, 2TD
Nykeim Johnson 33 rec, 527 rec yds, 4TD
Klelan Whitner 84 tot tkls, 3.5FL, 1.5sks, 2INT, 1FF
Alton Robinson 32 tot tkls, 15.0FL, 9.0sks, 2FF, 2FR
Andre Cisco 36 tot tkls, 5INT, 7PD, 1FF
Ryan Guthrie 77 tot tkls, 11.5FL, 2.0sks, 2FR
Preview:
Syracuse has a star at QB themselves in do-it-all Senior QB Eric Dungey. He's done a bit of everything for the Orange this season, throwing for over 2,000 yards with 14 TDs through the air and adding another 690 yards and 12 more scores on the ground. He also has talent around him, as Moe Neal has proven he can tote the rock effectively. The Orange also boast a trio of talented receivers in Jamal Custis, Sean Riley, and Nykeim Johnson.
They can also score with the best of them, and this one should be no different. The question is whether their defense will be able to stop a ND offense that has been trending in the right direction over the past couple weeks. The weather is not expected to be much of a factor, as the experts are calling for clouds, a slight breeze, and mid-to-upper 40s.
The Irish will want to run and pass and try to curtail the playmaking ability of Dungey, who is the key to this game. Meanwhile, Syracuse will want to try and force the Irish into the mistakes that they were more prone to making toward the beginning of the season.
Prediction: The Fighting Irish have struggled in games against Ball State (24-16), at Vanderbilt (22-17), and at home against Pitt (19-14) early in the season. Syracuse is prone for springing big upsets under third-year head coach Dino Babers. Both know what is at-stake in this one, and I feel the time is right for Cuse to spring the upset. Notre Dame has lived dangerously in several games this year, and Syracuse is much better offensively than really any of Notre Dame's opponents to date... Call me crazy, but the Orange pull off the upset, and knock the Irish from the ranks of the unbeaten, 34-30 and cause the CFP committee to actually have to put in some real work (or maybe that is just me secretly hoping lol - either way, enjoy what should be an excellent game!)
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