Syracuse has another upset opportunity on Saturday when they visit Notre Dame

Syracuse closes the away portion of their football schedule on Saturday when they travel to face Notre Dame. It will be a very steep challenge for the Orange (3-7), as the Fighting Irish stand 8-2 on the season and #8 in the college football playoff rankings.

Both of Notre Dame’s remaining opponents will not be bowl-eligible, as next week’s foe Stanford also currently sports a 3-7 mark, so their focus will be on not getting tripped up with a chance at the national title in sight. And SU is standing in the way as a relatively harmless-looking roadblock with freshman Joe Filardi making his second career start.

The Irish should not only come into this game focused on the task in front of them, but they are a hot team, winning their last eight games by double digits and a half dozen of them by at least 21 points. Their high-powered offense is leading the way, as they have averaged 38.5 points per game on the season, good for 8th in the nation.

The Irish offense is powerful and balanced

Notre Dame has earned those points, as well, standing fourth in the country in yards per play. They also offer a “pick your poison” attack, as they are in the top 30 in both rushing yards and passing yards per game.

The ground attack is probably the bigger headline of the Irish offense, as Jeremiyah Love is an absolute star at running back. Averaging 6.4 yards per carry on the season, Love has rolled up 1,135 rushing yards and 14 scores on the ground. Reserve Jadarian Price has been very effective, as well, gaining 589 yards while adding nine scores thus far.

Quarterback C.J. Carr directs a potent aerial attack when not handing the ball off. Carr leads FBS with 9.7 yards per pass attempt while completing 67.3 percent of his passes and sporting 21 touchdown passes against six interceptions.

Three different wide receivers each have at least 24 receptions for the team. Jordan Faison leads the way with 44 catches on the year, but teammate Malachi Fields is a big-play machine, averaging 18.6 yards per reception as he has piled up a team-leading 596 receiving yards. Fields is tied with Will Pauling for the team lead with five receiving touchdowns.

Things don't get any easier when the Irish offense rests

The Notre Dame defense has a very strong group of playmakers in the backfield. The team is third in the country with 17 interceptions this season with 16 coming from the defensive backs. Safety Tae Johnson has four picks, while cornerback Leonard Moore and safety Luke Talich each have three. Christian Gray has nine passes defensed to go with his pair of picks, setting up a long day for Syracuse quarterback Joe Filardi.

The Irish rush defense is also impressive, standing 15th in the country in yards allowed per carry and 13th in rushing yards allowed per game. In all, the struggling SU offense will have needed to figure some things out over their bye week to see much success.

It just seems unlikely for everything to have fallen into place for Syracuse, even with two weeks to prepare for this matchup. Notre Dame is excellent on both sides of the ball while the Orange have been in a tailspin. A magic wand is needed to defeat the luck of the Irish, only this team does not need luck.

Notre Dame 41, Syracuse 10.

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE

For more discussion on Syracuse athletics, visit our free Syracuse Orange discussion forum.