2018 Notre Dame Opponent Preview: Syracuse
Judging a football schedule in the preseason cannot be based too much off of what happened the year prior.
All one has to do is look at the roller-coaster tendencies of Notre Dame the past 20-plus years, from 9-3, 5-7, 9-3, 5-6, 10-3 and 5-7 during the 1998-2003 stretch, to 10-3 and 3-9 in 2006-07, to 10-3, 4-8, 10-3 the past three campaigns.
When evaluating and ranking Notre Dame’s 2018 opponents, the recent history does factor in, but not as much as:
• Overall personnel/talent.
• Returning experience.
• Timing of the game (after a bye week or following a marquee opponent).
• Where the game is played/intangibles.
At No. 10 in our countdown is Syracuse.
Syracuse — Nov. 17 (Yankee Stadium)
Series Record: Notre Dame leads, 5-3.
Most Recent Meeting: On Oct. 1, 2016, the 1-3 Fighting Irish, who six days earlier fired defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, won a 50-33 shootout against the Orange at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Notre Dame rolled up 654 yards total offense, with quarterback DeShone Kizer completing 23 of 35 passes for 471 yards and three touchdowns. Syracuse amassed 489 yards, with quarterback Eric Dungey completing 31 of his 51 tosses for 363 yards and two touchdowns while adding 49 yards on the ground and three rushing TDs.
This will be the third straight meeting between the two teams at a neutral site, with a 31-15 Notre Dame victory in 2014 also held at MetLife.
The most recent encounter on a home field between the two was a 24-23 defeat at home by the Irish in 2008 versus a reeling 2-8 Syracuse squad.
Syracuse’s Rivals Class Rankings 2014-18: No. 51 (2014), No. 60 (2015) No. 54 (2016), tied with Vanderbilt for No. 57 (2017), No. 64 (2018)
Notre Dame’s Rivals Class Rankings 2014-18: No. 11 (2014), No. 11 (2015), No. 13 (2016), No. 13 (2017), No. 11 (2018)
2017 Record/Summary: 4-8
Despite getting upset at home by Middle Tennessee State in game 2, Syracuse’s stunning 27-24 victory versus No. 2 Clemson on a Friday night in the Carrier Dome improved the Orange to 4-3 and appeared to be the breakthrough game for second-year head coach Dino Babers.
Alas, Syracuse lost its final five contests thereafter while allowing 43.2 points per game. If you think Notre Dame’s fuel tank was practically on “E” over the final three regular season games, the Orange was even worse, closing with 64-43, 56-10 and 42-14 defeats to Wake Forest, Louisville and Boston College, respectively.
During the five-game losing streak to end the season, Syracuse allowed 43.2 points per game. It finished No. 1 in the nation in plays run per game — 87.8 — but it became impertinent while playing with a hapless defense
2018 Outlook
The aforementioned quarterback Dungey has passed for 6,472 yards and rushed for 1,239 during his career but has had the injury bug each season and saw limited action this spring while recovering from foot surgery. Redshirt freshman Tommy DeVito took most of the reps in his place.
Replacing the entire starting linebacker corps has been a primary focus, especially after the Orange forced only 12 turnovers last season (tied for 115th nationally) and were 122nd in turnover margin (minus-12).
Babers’ fast-paced attack also took a heavy hit with the loss of four-year regulars Steve Ishmael (105 catches, 1,347 yards last season) and Ervin Phillips (89 catches, 904 yards last season).
In our countdown of Notre Dame’s potentially weakest to possibly strongest foes from 12 to 1, No. 12 Ball State and No. 11 Vanderbilt are both projected to finish last in their conference division.
The same outlook, for now, seems to be the case at Syracuse, which finished seventh in the seven-team Atlantic Division of the ACC last year. It will be hard-pressed to climb out of the cellar again in 2018.
Will Notre Dame Be Favored, The Underdog, Or Is It A Toss-Up?
This game has become a source of angst among Notre Dame faithful, not necessarily because of Syracuse’s prowess but because of the switch in venue. The contest was originally going to be Senior Day at Notre Dame, but it was shifted to Yankee Stadium as the Shamrock Series outing, which was skipped in 2017 after an 8-0 run from 2009-16.
Publicly, head coach Brian Kelly bit his lip about the move, but he was conspicuously unhappy about it. The other option given to him was to play the Orange indoors at a closer location (Indianapolis?) — which he rejected because then the run-and-shoot offense that led the nation in plays per game would be playing in climate-controlled conditions, where it upset Clemson last year in the Carrier Dome.
The game isn’t at night, so at least the Irish can get home at a decent time. The concern is the residual effect of traveling for the fourth time in five weeks to close the season.
The second point of concern is it is the sandwich outing between two marquee foes — Florida State at home (Nov. 10) and the finale at arch rival USC (Nov. 24). It has “trap” written all over it, much like Navy last year at the same time between road trips to Miami and Stanford (the Irish rallied and hung on for a 24-17 victory versus the Midshipmen).
Nevertheless, Syracuse has had three straight 4-8 seasons and is 15-33 over the past four — the lone team in the ACC over that time not to play in a bowl game. On paper, the Irish are anticipated to be prohibitive favorites.
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