EDITORIAL BY GRAYDON FOX

Overview:

On Saturday, November 10^th, the (4-5) Florida State Seminoles will be on the road to take on the (9-0) Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

The Crowd:

The Crowd projects a final score of Notre Dame 35.9 – Florida State 20.3 with an over/under of 56.2.

Lou Holtz and Mark May:

Lou is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 45 – Florida State 14.

Mark is predicting a final score of Notre Dame 30 – Florida State 18.

2018-19 Statistics (130 total teams):

Passing offense: Florida State 283.2 YPG > Notre Dame 268.1 YPG

Rushing offense: Notre Dame 181.0 YPG > Florida State 76.9 YPG

Scoring offense: Notre Dame 33.7 PPG > Florida State 23.8 PPG

Scoring defense: Notre Dame 19.3 PPG > Florida State 30.4 PPG

Passing defense: Notre Dame 188.4 YPG > Florida State 282.6 YPG

Rushing defense: Florida State 111.1 YPG > Notre Dame 142.6 YPG

Turnover Margin Per Game: Notre Dame +0.2 > Florida State -1.5

Summary:

Florida State is (4-5) with wins over Samford, Northern Illinois, Louisville, and Wake Forest.  They were defeated by #20 Virginia Tech, Syracuse, #17 Miami, #2 Clemson, and #21 NC State.  NC State nearly doubled Florida State’s time of possession in their 47-28 win over the Seminoles last week.  The Seminoles rank 106^th in points per game (23.8) and 85^th in scoring defense (30.4 PPG).  Quarterback Deondre Francois is back from last season’s gruesome injury and has completed 60% of his passes for 2,039 yards with 13 touchdowns to 7 interceptions.  James Blackman started in place of Francois last week and there is now question as to who should be the starter moving forward.  Florida State’s running game has been abysmal all season averaging just 2.4 yards per carry.  Nyqwan Murray (571 yards, 3 touchdowns) and Tamorrian Terry (505 yards, 7 touchdowns) have been bright spots at the receiver position.  The Seminoles’ defense ranks 120^th against the pass (282.6 YPG) and 17^th against the run (111.1 YPG).  Florida State has the second worst turnover margin in college football (-1.4).

Notre Dame is a perfect (9-0) with victories over #14 Michigan, Ball State, Vanderbilt, Wake Forest, #7 Stanford, #24 Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Navy, and Northwestern.  Notre Dame was challenged early on the road last week by Northwestern but ultimately prevailed 31-21.  The Fighting Irish rank 33^rd in points per game (33.7) and 19^th in scoring defense (19.3 PPG).  Since taking over at quarterback for Brandon Wimbush, Ian Book has completed 74% of his passes for 1,824 yards with 15 touchdowns to 4 interceptions.  Dexter Williams leads the team in rushing with 568 yards and 8 touchdowns.  Myles Boykin leads the team in both receiving yards (624) and touchdowns (7).  The Fighting Irish defense ranks 26^th against the pass (188.4 YPG) and 41^st against the run (142.6 YPG).

Bottom Line:

Notre Dame is averaging 38.8 points per game and has looked like a different team since Ian Book took over for the ineffective Brandon Wimbush.  Unfortunately for Notre Dame, Book is out with an injury so I think this game will be closer than many people expect. Ultimately, Notre Dame grinds out a tough win at home in Book’s absence.

Notre Dame wins 30-23

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