Stacking Up The Notre Dame Offense vs Syracuse
Notre Dame (4-3) will look to pick up an upset win this weekend when it travels to Syracuse to take on the 16th-ranked Orange. If Notre Dame is going to pull off the upset it will need the offense to be at its best against what has been a very, very good Syracuse defense.
Let's look at how the Fighting Irish offense stacks up against the Syracuse defense.
Notre Dame Rush Offense vs Syracuse Rush Defense
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Advantage: Notre Dame
If you simply look at the season long numbers it would seem advantage Syracuse, who ranks higher in yards, yards per play and touchdowns allowed. I'm going with Notre Dame for a few reasons, but the primary reason is that if you look at the Syracuse numbers against FBS opponents only this is a clear Notre Dame advantage.
Syracuse limited FCS opponent Wagner to 31 yards on 32 carries. Wagner is a 1-6 football team that is averaging just 63.7 yards per game on the ground. If you take out that performance and look at the rankings against only FBS opponents the Syracuse rush defense falls 53rd, the yards per attempt falls to 57th and their tackles for loss falls to 58th.
Make no mistake, the Orange are still a good rush defense that held Connecticut, Purdue and NC State to under 100 rushing yards. Notre Dame will have to be on top of their game if they want to have success against the Syracuse defense. The Orange are undersized but they are very well coached, they are athletic and they attack.
Clemson leaned on Syracuse and used their size to wear them down, which allowed them to dominate the second half and rack up 293 yards on the ground.
Notre Dame's recent success is another reason I'm giving them the on paper advantage. Notre Dame has averaged 223.5 rushing yards per game and 5.1 yards per carry in its last four contests and has racked up at least 223 yards in three of those four games.
Sophomore Logan Diggs is coming off a career-best 130 rushing yards in the win over UNLV.
Notre Dame Pass Offense vs Syracuse Pass Defense
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Advantage: Syracuse
This is the biggest on paper matchup of the game, and it's the area where Notre Dame must step up and play above its level if the Irish are going to win the game. Even if you take out the Wagner name (19 passing yards), the Orange still rank 22nd in passing yards allowed, 12th in yards per attempt and 22nd in pass efficiency defense.
Syracuse has arguably the best secondary will face this season, and despite getting banged up against Clemson the Orange starters should be good to go against Notre Dame. Purdue passed for 424 yards in a loss to Syracuse, which much of the production coming in the second half (and specifically the fourth quarter). None of Syracuse's other six opponents have topped 200 yards, with Louisville's 197 yards being the next highest mark.
NC State had just 160 yards through the air, Clemson went for just 157 (2 interceptions), Virginia went for just 138 yards and UConn went for just 105 yards. Syracuse is led by a talented cornerback tandem of Garrett Williams and Duce Chestnut. Syracuse has also been bolstered by Rutgers transfer Alijah Clark.
Notre Dame's pass offense has struggled for much of the season and its two more recent performances were extremely bad. Quarterback Drew Pyne has been below 50% completions in the last two games combined and he's averaged just 6.5 yards per attempt. This came after two games (UNC, BYU) in which he averaged 275.5 yards per game and completed 74.2% of his throws while averaging 8.9 yards per attempt.
If Notre Dame is going to win this game it needs Pyne to be the guy he was against UNC and BYU. The Irish also need other receivers to step up and take the pressure off tight end Michael Mayer. Tobias Merriweather, Lorenzo Styles and Braden Lenzy all have the speed to make plays against Syracuse, but they'll need good scheme and Pyne to be on top of his game.
Notre Dame Scoring Offense vs Syracuse Scoring Defense
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Advantage: Syracuse
Syracuse dominates the overall statistics no matter how you break it down. They've been a very good scoring defense all season and Notre Dame has struggled to move the ball and score in every game but one (45 points vs North Carolina).
Looking at the situational numbers and the two teams are evenly matched on third down, but Syracuse dominates the red zone numbers and turnover numbers.
Notre Dame will have to play above what has been its level this season if it is going to handle Syracuse. The talent is there, the potential is there, but something has been missing. If the unit can play to its potential and be put in good position by Tommy Rees this unit could have a breakout performance, but it won't be easy.
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