Notre Dame vs Syracuse Series History
Notre Dame and Syracuse meet on Saturday afternoon at the JMA Wireless Dome, the building formerly known by its more famous and recognizable name, The Carrier Dome. The Fighting will Irish attempt to take another step toward bowl eligibility in Marcus Freeman’s first season while 16th-ranked Syracuse seeks to rebound coming off a tough 27-21 loss at Clemson.
SERIES HISTORY
Notre Dame and Syracuse have met 10 times previously, with the Irish holding a 7-3 advantage in the series. The Irish and Orange met 4 times in the Brian Kelly era, with Notre Dame winning all the matchups.
SERIES RESULTS
2020 – Notre Dame 45, Syracuse 21
2018 – Notre Dame 36, Syracuse 3
2016 – Notre Dame 50, Syracuse 33
2014 – Notre Dame 31, Syracuse 15
2008 – Syracuse 24, Notre Dame 23
2005 – Notre Dame 34, Syracuse 10
2003 – Syracuse 38, Notre Dame 12
1963 – Syracuse 14, Notre Dame 7
1961 – Notre Dame 17, Syracuse 15
1914 – Notre Dame 20, Syracuse 0
NOTABLE GAMES
2020 – Notre Dame wrapped up a perfect 10-0 regular season – its only as a full ACC member – with a 45-21 win over Syracuse in the season finale. The Irish were sloppy at times, but still put up 285 passing yards and 283 rushing yards. Ian Book threw for 285 yards and 3 touchdowns, running backs Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree each went over 100 yards, Tyree doing most of his damage with a 94-yard burst, one of the longest touchdown runs in Notre Dame history.
2018 – Wearing pinstripe jerseys paying homage to the New York Yankees in a matchup with 12th-ranked Syracuse at Yankee Stadium, 3rd-ranked Notre Dame moved to 11-0 with a dominating 36-3 win over the Orange. Syracuse came into the game with a high-flying offense, but the Irish defense set the tone early by forcing and three-and-out on the first Syracuse possession and intercepting Eric Dungey on the second. Dungey was knocked out of the game late in the first quarter, and the Orange offense never had a chance to get rolling under backup QB Tommy DeVito. Notre Dame held Syracuse to just 234 yards and forced 3 turnovers, giving Ian Book (who threw for 292 yards and 2 touchdowns) plenty of cushion. Notre Dame beat USC 24-17 in the season finale, earning the Fighting Irish their first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff.
2016 – In the first game since Brian Van Gorder was fired following the embarrassing loss to Duke in Notre Dame Stadium the previous weekend, Notre Dame defeated Syracuse 50-33 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. The Notre Dame defense didn’t play much better under Greg Hudson, though they did pick up their first sack of the season (in Game 5). However, DeShone Kizer was unstoppable, throwing for 471 yards and 3 touchdowns, with 2 going to Equanimeous St. Brown, who had 182 yards receiving on just 4 catches. Unfortunately, any momentum from the Syracuse win was destroyed the next week when the Irish completed just 9-26 passes in a hurricane in a 10-3 loss to NC State.
2014 – Notre Dame moved to 4-0 with a 31-15 victory over Syracuse at the new MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. Perhaps no better game better encapsulated the career of QB Everett Golson – so talented, yet so inconsistent. Golson threw two interceptions and also lost two fumbles, yet also threw for 362 yards, 4 touchdowns, and set the Notre Dame record for the most consecutive completions with 25, 1 short of the FBS record. Golson’s favorite target was Will Fuller, who finished with 119 yards receiving and 2 TDs. Corey Robinson and Torii Hunter Jr. also added touchdown receptions in the victory. Notre Dame would beat Stanford and North Carolina the next two weeks, vaulting the Irish into the top-five before the heartbreaking loss at Florida State that sent the 2014 season into a tailspin.
2008 – Notre Dame lost as a 19.5-point favorite to a 3-8 Syracuse team that had already fired head coach Greg Robinson in what senior Maurice Crum Jr. called the worst loss of his career. The Fighting Irish blew a 23-10 fourth quarter lead on a snowy Senior Day, and it was Syracuse QB Cameron Dantley, the son of Notre Dame basketball legend Adrian Dantley, who threw the winning touchdown pass with 42 seconds remaining. The game is most remembered for Notre Dame students throwing snowballs at the Notre Dame players in an ugly scene, and the Irish players heard plenty of boos leaving the field. Somehow, despite the weather and negative energy in the stadium, Notre Dame still managed to impress an important visitor that day from Hawaii – Manti Te’o, who would surprise the country with his commitment to Notre Dame a couple months later and be the catalyst for the 2012 team that returned the program to glory.
2005 – Sixth-ranked Notre Dame hosted Syracuse on Senior Day, and behind 270 passing yards from Brady Quinn and 123 rushing yards from Darius Walker, the Irish cruised to a 34-10 victory. With the win, Notre Dame moved to 8-2 and extended its winning streak after the “Bush Push” loss to USC to 4 games. Notre Dame would defeat Stanford 38-31 in the season finale behind 432 passing yards from Quinn to secure a Fiesta Bowl berth.
1961 – Syracuse was a dominant program in the late 1950s and early 1960s and entered the 1961 game in Notre Dame Stadium ranked 10th in the country to take on a scuffling 4-3 Fighting Irish team. The Orange were led by Ernie Davis, “The Express”, who later that season would become first African-American recipient of the Heisman Trophy. Notre Dame led 14-0 before Syracuse scored two second half touchdowns to take a 15-14 lead. Notre Dame had one final chance when they got the ball back with 17 seconds left and quickly maneuvered into position for a 56-yard field goal. Kicker Joe Perkowski missed badly, but a controversial roughing the holder penalty gave Notre Dame another chance from 41 yards. Perkowski made the kick, lifting Notre Dame to the 17-15 victory.
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