Teams: Syracuse Orange (2-2) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-3)
Day & Time: Saturday, October 1, 12:00 EST
Field: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Line: -11, Notre Dame (opened at -13/-14)
TV: ESPN
Radio: Syracuse IMG Network, WAER 88.3, Sirius 93/XM 193
Notre Dame Blog: One Foot Down
Rivalry: 4-3, Notre Dame
Current Streak: 1, Notre Dame
First Meeting: The 1914 Notre Dame football team was coming off of a 48-6 whopping of the Carlisle Indian School. Syracuse put up a bit more of a fight but still fell to the mighty Irish, 20-0.
Last Meeting: Everett Golson's propelled No. 8 Notre Dame to a 31-15 win over the Orange in MetLife Stadium in 2014. The Irish won in spite of a five turnover performance on the day.
Head Coaches: SU: Dino Babers (1st Year, 2-2), Notre Dame: Brian Kelly (7th Year, 56-26)
Last Year: The Irish finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, averaging 34 points per game, including a 62 point performance against UMass. They would go to the Fiesta Bowl where they lost to Ohio State, 44-28.
This Year: The Irish came into 2016 with high hopes and those hopes are already dashed, dead, and buried. They lost the season opener in heartbreaking fashion, a double-overtime thriller to Texas. They rebounded with a 39-10 win over Nevada but fell 36-28 to Michigan State and then 38-35 to Duke last week. That last one cost DC Brian VanGorder his job.
Last Game: Notre Dame lost a shocker to Duke, 38-35, and the realization that this is not going to be like last season has officially set in. Duke came into the game as a 21-point underdog.
"Fear Me, I've Killed Hundreds of Timelords": For all their issues, Notre Dame still has an offense that can put points on the board. A lot of that will come courtesy of quarterback DeShone Kizer. Kizer has 11 touchdowns to three interceptions as well as 1,096 yards on 72-166 passing. His most likely target? The wonderfully-named Equanimeous St. Brown, who has caught 21 passes for 359 yards and three TDs. It should also be noted that Kizer is the team's second-leading rusher.
If Syracuse Wins: It's a huge win for the program (like any win over Notre Dame is), wakes the echos of MetLife Stadium and our crappy recent history there, and actually gives Dino Babers' squad the look of a team that could actually, somehow, pull off a bowl game.
If Syracuse Loses: Well, we tried.
Fun Fact: Of the five wins Greg Robinson is still officially credited with as Syracuse head coach, the win over Notre Dame is one of them.