Orange Bowl

Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Syracuse Orangemen

Saturday November 22nd, 2008, 1:30pm Central

Notre Dame Stadium - Notre Dame, Indiana

The Irish are 20 point favorites over the (2-8) Orangemen on Saturday. Nearly 14 inches of snow has fallen during the week, so this game will be a cold one. And it could be a Green one, as the Irish sometimes wear the Green jersey for Senior Day, the last home game of the season. We shall see.

Despite the point spread and the firing of the Syracuse coach Greg Robinson last weekend, the Irish cannot overlook any opponents. Syracuse has played a solid schedule (losing by only 10 to West Virgina and Pitt) and will not be shocked by the talent level the Irish have. Now the quick stats:

• Syracuse Offense National Rank (Pass/Rush) - 112th/65th


• Irish Offense National Rank (Pass/Rush) - 28th/84th


• Syracuse Defense National Rank (Pass/Rush) - 72nd/107th


• Irish Defense National Rank (Pass/Rush) - 22nd/57th

The Orangemen's best weapon is running back Curtis Brinkley, who is actually pretty good. The kid is averaging 5.2 yards per carry and has rushed for 1060 yards through 10 games, against solid but not great Big East competition. The Syracuse QB seems efficient, rarely throwing the ball but not throwing many INTs (9 TDs against 4 INTs). And Syracuse on defense is probably the second worst defense the Irish have played this season, close to the level of Washington. This should not be a close game.

Prediction time!

• Prediction 1 - Jimmy Clausen finally gets a good game on the books in the 2nd half of the season, throwing for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns, against 1 INT.


• Prediction 2 - The Irish rack up 200 yards rushing, another solid effort on the ground.


• Prediction 3 - Yes, Golden Tate finally makes a "house call" on a punt or kickoff return.

Score prediction time!

IRISH 41 Syracuse 17

(Record picking the Irish straight up is 7-3, while only 6-4 against the spread)