No. 8 Notre Dame sets sights on Syracuse

East Rutherford, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – The eighth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish get back to work on Saturday evening, as they take on the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.

Brian Kelly’s Irish enjoyed a well-earned bye last week after opening the season with three straight wins over Rice (48-17), Michigan (31-0) and Purdue (30-14).

Scott Shafer’s Orange began the 2014 season with back-to-back wins over Villanova (27-26) and Central Michigan (40-3), but enter this tilt following their first loss of the season, a 34-20 setback to former ACC-foe Maryland last weekend.

Shafer knows the importance of this game for his team.

“We’ve got a great game coming up in the Meadowlands against a great, top-10 Notre Dame,” said Shafer. “This is why you coach the game and this is why these kids play the game.”

This marks the seventh all-time meeting between these two teams but the first since 2008. The series is all tied up at 3-3.

The Irish are back in the national title hunt thanks in large part to the return of talented signal caller Everett Golson. Two years ago, Golson was under center as the Irish made it all the way to the National Championship Game, but that was more as a game manager for a team that beat foes up defensively. This season, Golson has evolved into a Heisman candidate with his early play.

The junior leads an offense that is generating 418.0 ypg, as he has completed 64.6 percent of his passes, for 780 yards and seven TDs. He has added four more scores on the ground and has yet to turn the ball over.

There are no household names at the other skill positions, but wideouts Will Fuller (19 catches, 225 yards, 3 TDs) and Amir Carlisle (11 catches, 117 yards, 2 TDs) have performed well. However, Carlisle is not available for this game due to injury.

The ground game is averaging a modest 158.0 ypg, with four different players splitting the workload, including Golson (29 carries). Tarean Folston has the most carries (30), with Greg Bryant (22 carries) and Cam McDaniel (25 carries) not far behind.

The Irish had their best defensive game since that 2012 squad when they shut out the Wolverines a couple of weeks ago. That has certainly aided the overall numbers, as the team is allowing just 10.3 ppg (third nationally) this year on just 315.3 ypg (24th nationally). Big plays have come on a regular basis, with the team already collecting nine takeaways in three games.

Senior linebacker Joe Schmidt leads the charge with a team-best 23 tackles. He also has one interception and one forced fumble to his credit. Sophomore linebacker Jaylon Smith (22 tackles) is right behind, with a team-high 4.0 TFL and one sack. Junior safety Elijah Shumate (18 tackles, 1 INT) headlines the play in secondary and junior end Romeo Okwara (15 tackles, 2.5 sacks) does the same up front.

Big plays did in the Orange against Maryland, as the Terrapins used an interception returned for a score, a 90-yard TD pass and a blocked punt to distance themselves early and put Syracuse in a hole it couldn’t climb out of.

Syracuse rushed for an astounding 370 yards in the game and had 589 yards of total offense but still came out on the losing end. Quarterback Terrel Hunt paced the team with 156 yards and two scores, marking the first SU quarterback to rush for over 100 yards since Donovan McNabb against Miami (1997). Tailback Prince-Tyson Gulley was productive as well, with 138 yards on just 14 carries.

The ground game is now generating 265.0 ypg for Syracuse (19th nationally). Hunt paces the team with 273 yards and five TDs. Gulley has been strong as well with 251 yards and one score.

Hunt hasn’t played bad when dropping back to pass either, as he has completed 58.7 percent of his passes thus far, for 488 yards and one TD. Jarrod West (8 rec, 133 yds) and Ashton Broyld (11 rec, 125 yds) are the top options in the passing game.

The Syracuse defense played well against Maryland and has done so on the year for the most part. The Orange are allowing just 325.0 ypg overall and has been very active with their pass rush, with 12 sacks through three games.

Senior linebacker Cameron Lynch has been a force all over the field, leading the team in tackles (30), TFL (5.5) and sacks (4.5), with a safety to his credit as well. Senior safety Darius Kelly is a distant second in terms of tackles (18). Senior end Micah Robinson (10 tackles, 4.0 TFL, 1.5 sacks) makes plays up front.

Brian Kelly is familiar with a Shafer-coached defense.

“They’re a pain in the butt! He does a very good job of — you know, they live on taking the football away. They live on big plays. If you look at what they do defensively, they’ve got an answer for virtually everything. And he’s an experienced defensive coordinator, and with Chuck Bullough with him, who is experienced in his background, both those guys working together, make for you’re going to earn everything you get and make for a long day.”

Categorized in: NCAA Football