Saturday, September 27, 2014

Carrier Dome in Syracuse

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Notre Dame has not only escaped the first quarter of their schedule unscathed, they've looked downright dominate on both sides of the ball in trotting out to a 3-0 record. After a bye week, the Irish get right back to work against a Syracuse team that is an efficient 2-1, but coming off a bad 34-20 beat by Maryland on their home turf. This game was moved from the Carrier Dome to MetLife Stadium for the primetime showing in New York but there's a strong contingency of ND backers expected to be in attendance. With games against #16 Stanford and #1 Florida State in 2 of the next 3 weeks the Irish may need crowd support to avoid the look ahead loss.

The Irish test their road legs for the 1st time after three convincing wins in the state of Indiana. They toppled Rice 48-17 to start the year then shutout Michigan 31-0 in the last scheduled meeting between the schools. Finally at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis two weeks ago the Irish toppled Purdue 30-14. QB Everett Golson has played himself into a dark horse Heisman candidate after missing all of last year due to academic violations. The senior has thrown 7 TD against no INT and has completed 65% of his passes on the way to a 156.9 rating. He's backed by a defense that will be put to the test against Syracuse, but is ranked 3rd in the FBS giving up just 10.3 PPG.

The Orange do it all in the ground game, with a shifty playmaking QB in Terrel Hunt that is their leading rusher, Prince-Tyson Gulley is a game-breaking speedster and Adonis Ameen-Moore is a 234-yard power short yardage back. Notre Dame's defense has been stout against the run allowing less than 100 yards a game and still no rushing TD but they haven't faced an attack like Syracuse's. Despite losing to Maryland last week, Syracuse outrushed them 370-89 but was doomed by turnovers.

The Irish have impressive defensive tackles that can stop the run but Syracuse is going to keep coming after them on the ground, especially considering Hunt's struggles in the passing game. Oddsmakers are expecting Golson to have another big day against a Syracuse secondary that has yet to intercept a pass on the season, putting Notre Dame as almost 2 TD favorites. Either way, it should be a good one under the lights in New York.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Trends

Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 2-1-0 Against the Spread

Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 1-2-0 against the Over/Under

Syracuse Orange Betting Trends

Syracuse Orange are 1-2-0 Against the Spread

Syracuse Orange are 1-2-0 against the Over/Under

Injuries to Watch

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

09/21/14 WR Amir Carlisle Knee "?" Saturday vs. Syracuse
09/21/14 WR Torii Hunter Jr. Groin "?" Saturday vs. Syracuse
09/15/14 DB Nicky Baratti Shoulder out for season
09/07/14 LB Jarrett Grace Leg out indefinitely
08/30/14 DB Austin Collinsworth Knee out indefinitely
08/29/14 S Eilar Hardy Academics out indefinitely
08/19/14 LB Ishaq Williams Academics out indefinitely
08/16/14 WR DaVaris Daniels Academics out indefinitely
08/16/14 DB KeiVarae Russell Academics out indefinitely
08/16/14 LB Kendall Moore Academics out indefinitely

Syracuse Orange

09/21/14 WR Ashton Broyld Leg "?" Saturday vs. Notre Dame
09/21/14 WR Sean Avant Undisclosed "?" Saturday vs. Notre Dame
08/27/14 DL John Raymon Undisclosed out indefinitely
08/11/14 DB Naesean Howard Suspension out indefinitely

Josh's Pick: Take Notre Dame

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