Notre Dame’s perfect red zone play this season explains why the Irish have started the season 3-0. Syracuse’s struggles in that department explain why the Orange has not.
SU was hoping for an undefeated matchup at MetLife on Saturday night, but a series of miscues and mistakes cost Syracuse in its 34-20 loss last week. Instead, the Orange gets a chance at redemption when it takes on No. 8 Notre Dame at 8 p.m.
“We have a great game coming up in the Meadowlands against a great, top ten, Notre Dame team,” Scott Shafer said. “And that’s why you coach the game. That’s why these kids play the game.”
SU accumulated almost 600 yards of total offense last week against Maryland, but couldn’t complete its first 3-0 start since 1991. Syracuse was its own worst enemy as the Orange didn’t score on two red zone opportunities. That includes one interception by Terrel Hunt that turned into a Terrapin touchdown.
“It was frustrating,” Prince-Tyson Gulley said. “It’s always frustrating when you can get all the way down the field, but you can’t capitalize.”
An offensive line penalty took a Hunt touchdown off the board and other drives were cut short by dropped passes.
“Close doesn’t cut it on Saturday,” offensive coordinator George McDonald said. “Either you did it or you didn’t do it.”
Now, McDonald’s unit has the challenge of keeping pace with one of the greatest offenses in the country. The Irish have scored at least 30 points in each of their first three games this season. If they do it again, it would be the first season they’ve started with four 30+ point games in more than 70 years. They’re led by quarterback Everett Golson, who returns after missing last season with an academic suspension. He’s thrown for 780 yards and seven touchdowns this season and hasn’t been picked off.
“Everett’s a great football player,” Shafer said. “We knew that. He had a year off last year and now all of a sudden, he’s back. He accounts for over 62 percent of their offense when you look at both pass and run.”
Syracuse beat Notre Dame, 24-23, in the last meeting back in 2008, leveling the all-time series. A victory would give the Orange a 4-3 series lead and its first MetLife win after losing there in back-to-back seasons.
“It’s just what you want,” Shafer said. “It’s everything about college football that you love. And I can’t tell you how excited we are to go out there and tee it up.?”
What To Look For
- Golson’s Legs – The Notre Dame quarterback has shown the ability to move outside the pocket and, often, use his speed to pick up yardage. He’s already rushed for four touchdowns this season. He goes up against a Syracuse defense that’s struggled at times with dual-threat quarterbacks. Villanova’s John Robertson picked up more than 100 yards on the ground in Syracuse’s home opener. In 2013, Northwestern’s Kain Colter, Georgia Tech’s Vad Lee and Boston College’s Chase Rettig all had rushing success against the Orange.
- SU’s run game – Gulley leads a stable of running backs who average almost six yards per carry. The leading rusher, however, is Hunt who became the first Syracuse quarterback to run for 100 yards in a game since Donovan McNabb in 1997. Notre Dame ranks third in the nation in points against and held Purdue to just 56 rushing yards last time out.
- Turnover Battle – Syracuse didn’t turn the ball over in its first two games. When the Orange took the field against Maryland, it was one of only four FBS teams without a turnover. But Hunt’s interception and fumble led to 10 points and a cost the Orange a shot of coming back. “It’s fairly clear even right after the game that you can’t win games when you turn the ball over," Shafer said. "We have to get turnovers back. We had our hands on a couple of interceptions and didn’t come up with them.”
- Attendance Numbers – MetLife was only half-full when the Orange played its first game in MetLife, a 42-29 loss to USC. The 2013 season opener was a much bigger draw as Syracuse and Penn State had a crowd of 61,202.
News and Nuggets
- No Broyld – Syracuse has a tough enough challenge facing the Irish defense. But the Orange will also be doing so without Ashton Broyld (lower-body injury), who led the team in receiving yards last season.
- Giant Support – New York Giants rookie Jay Bromley, a former Syracuse star, is “definitely coming” and he may be joined by some other teammates. Former SU players Ryan Nassib, Justin Pugh and Jameel McClain and head coach Tom Coughlin could be there, as well. “I'm reaching out to the other boys to see if they can come by and maybe say a few words to the team,” Shafer said in his weekly teleconference.
- Headline Win - With a win, it would be Syracuse’s first victory against an AP Top 10 team since 2002. When the Orange upset Louisville in 2012, the Cardinals were ranked No. 9 in the BCS, but eleventh in the AP Poll.