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Having begun the season with a 3-0 record, a shutout victory against rival Michigan and ranked in the Top 10, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are making a serious case for the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish have won each game by a wide margin and the toughest part of their schedule is coming up.
For the Syracuse Orange, it has been a slow start to the season, beginning the year with a 2-1 record and a very close overtime win in week one. Moreover, the schedule won’t be getting any easier for the Orange after non-conference play concludes as they are in the same division as the defending national champions.
Notre Dame has been relying on Everett Golson to lead them this season just as they did two years ago when it made it to the national title game. The senior quarterback has been solid this season, passing for 780 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions while completing a solid 65 percent of his passes. The veteran QB has also used his legs to help the offense, rushing for 83 yards and four scores. Losing his top returning receiver hasn’t done much to hurt the quarterback as he’s found a new favorite target in William Fuller who has 19 catches for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Fuller isn’t the only one getting into the action as Amir Carlisle has also been impressive, grabbing 11 passes for 117 yards and two scores. The run game ranks just 76th in the nation as Greg Bryant leads all running backs with 119 yards and a touchdown. Tarean Folston leads all runners in carries, but has just 110 yards and no scores.
Syracuse doesn’t have the most impressive offense in football as the passing attack ranks just 101st in the nation, but the run game has excelled this season, ranking 20th in the country in terms of yards per game. Senior quarterback Terrel Hunt leads the way with 273 yards and five touchdowns on seven yards per carry while Prince-Tyson Gulley is a close second, accounting for 251 yards and a score on 7.8 yards per touch. Don’t forget the third man on the three-headed attack at running back as Adonis Ameen-Moore has 193 yards and a touchdown on 6.9 yards per carry. As stated earlier, the passing attack hasn’t been nearly as impressive as the run game, but Hunt has passed for 488 yards and a touchdown with just one interception on the season. The dual-threat QB’s favorite target has been Ashton Broyld who has a team-high 11 catches for 125 yards while Jarrod West lead’s the team in yards with 133 on eight catches.
Defensively, the Orange have been relatively solid this season although they have not yet played a tough enough opponent. Syracuse ranks 41st in the nation in points allowed per game while also ranking in the top half of the country in yards allowed per game with 325 per contest — most of which have come through the air. Notre Dame’s defense has been even more impressive this season, ranking third in the nation in points allowed as well as allowing just 315.3 yards per game. The Irish will be meeting the Orange at MetLife Stadium where the crowd is sure to be electric in the cool night air.
Notre Dame will travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange at 8 p.m. EST on Saturday, Sept. 27. The game will be broadcasted on ABC.
PREDICTION: Notre Dame 28, Syracuse 17
Want to see the Fighting Irish take on the Syacuse Orange? Check out ScoreBig for tickets.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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