Notre Dame hosts Syracuse on Saturday in the final home game of the regular season. The Fighting Irish will honor the graduating seniors and their families in a pregame ceremony. Coach Marcus Freeman’s ninth-ranked squad stands at 8-2 and is closing in on a spot in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the Orange are struggling, having lost six consecutive contests. NBC will televise the game beginning at 3:30 PM Eastern time. Senior Day pregame activities will also be televised beginning at 3:00 PM.

Syracuse Coach Fran Brown’s team opened the season with a promising 3-1 record before starting quarterback Steve Angeli went down. Angeli, a Notre Dame graduate, led the nation in passing before a ruptured Achilles ended his campaign. That loss and other injuries forced Brown to audition several freshmen for current and future roles. To date, 21 players have made their first career starts for the Orange in 2025. Overall, 43 different players have started at least one game and 95 players have seen action.

Despite these misfortunes and growing pains, Brown is looking forward to playing at Notre Dame. “We got a big game ahead of us against, in my opinion, one of the better teams in the country and one of the better head football coaches in the country,” Brown said. “I can’t wait to go out there and compete against them, just to give us that test to see how good we are, to see where my players are. Being able to go against one of the blue bloods in college football, being able to go against one of the better head coaches in college football – we get a chance to go out there and compete against them this week. This is big for our program, this is big for our guys’ confidence, for our culture.”

Freeman’s challenge is to ensure the Irish maintain a high standard of play despite potential Senior Day distractions. “We do some things during the week to honor them as a team,” he explained. “Obviously, we honor them as they run out Saturday before the game, but we always remind them that it’s an emotional moment as you run out. I remember my Senior Day. You run out there for what could be your last time in Notre Dame Stadium, but after you see your families and you get back to that sideline, you have to flip the switch back to competition mode.”

Notre Dame escaped the battle against Pitt last week with no new injuries. The current plan is to hold out other recovering players until the postseason. These include Jaden Greathouse, Billy Schrauth, Gabe Rubio, Cooper Flanagan, and Noah Burnette. Syracuse has already lost several players to season-ending injury but reported no new absences this week.

Notre Dame’s Offense vs. Syracuse’s Defense

A senior dominated front four is the heart of the Orange 4-3 defense. Ends Denis Jacquez and David Reese, tackle Dion Wilson, and swing man Kevin Jobity have plenty of experience. A true freshman, Antoine Deslauriers, has taken over at middle linebacker. He and weakside backer Gary Bryant lead the team in tackles. Unfortunately, this front seven has performed poorly against the run. Syracuse yields 4.7 yards per carry, which is much worse than average.

Two senior safeties and a pair of first-year starters at cornerback comprise the back end. Demetres Samuel Jr. is among the top freshmen in the nation. Chris Peal joins him at the other corner spot. Statistically, the Orange pass defense has struggled. Syracuse ranks near the bottom in points scored by opponents (31 ppg) and total yards allowed (430 ypg). Lack of depth is an issue given the injuries and the number of inexperienced players being deployed.

Notre Dame should be able to run its offense against this group. The Irish can adjust successfully through the air if the Orange overload the box to defend the run.

Syracuse’s Offense vs. Notre Dame’s Defense

Backup quarterback Rickie Collins did not meet expectations when he replaced Angeli, tossing ten interceptions in five starts. Offensive line woes also played a part in the team’s scoring drought. They have allowed 30 sacks to date. The Orange have averaged fewer than 12 points per game since Angeli’s injury.

Brown has now settled on freshman Joseph Filardi under center. Filardi struggled in his lone start at North Carolina, connecting on four of 18 passes for 39 yards. Collins was ineffective in Syracuse’s last game against Miami, while Filardi impressed in relief.  Brown has elected to let Filardi finish the season as he builds for the future.

Tailbacks Yasin Willis and Will Nixon share the workload in the ground game. The line has plenty of size and blocks more effectively for the run than in pass protection. If the Irish can gain control in the trenches, they can tee off on Filardi. Collins is the better runner but Filardi is a more accurate passer. Filardi has four capable targets in wideouts Johntay Cook, Darrell Gill, Justus Ross-Simmons and tight end Joe Villari.  Nixon is the most productive receiver out of the backfield. Notre Dame will try to make sure Filardi doesn’t have time to find them.

Syracuse has played most of the season without all purpose weapon Malachi James. He possesses other-worldly speed but has missed most of the game with an undisclosed injury. Hopefully James will return to full health for the 2026 season. He will be fun to watch.

Special Teams

Notre Dame kicker Eric Schmidt continues in the role as Burnette recovers from a hip injury. He missed his only field goal attempt last week from 45 yards. Freeman mandated extra work in practice this week and will likely give Schmidt another opportunity on Saturday.

Syracuse punter Jack Stonehouse sports a 47-yard average. He has been the team’s busiest player of late. Freshman kicker Tripp Woody has converted an impressive 10 of 11 field goals and is perfect on extra points. Samuels returns punts and is a threat to break a long one. Backup tailback Tylik Hill, a freshman, returns kickoffs for the Orange.

Summary

Notre Dame should have its way with the Syracuse defense, especially once the outmanned Orange wear down. I doubt Freeman and Chris Ash will show mercy toward Filardi. They will attack with a wave of blitzers and schematic wrinkles in the secondary designed to cause confusion. The Irish defense should be able to create turnovers against this group. If CJ Carr can refrain from giving the ball away, the game will almost certainly become a rout.

Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:

• Can the Irish stop the run and get after Filardi?
• Will Notre Dame (and the ACC referees) avoid silly mistakes and ridiculous penalties?
• Can the Irish create turnovers and capitalize on them?
• Will Love and Jadarian Price combine for 200 yards?
• Can Schmidt connect on a field goal if given the chance?
• Will the Irish offense finally solve its red zone problems?
• Can the Irish defense pitch a shutout?
• Will other playoff hopefuls help Notre Dame’s position by losing this week?

Prediction

Notre Dame understands it must be focused on the playoff prize despite the expectations for an easy victory. Style points are important now. Sloppy play will not go unnoticed by the Playoff Selection Committee. In a perfect world, the outgoing seniors will play extended minutes and perform well in front of their families. The team should also recognize Jeremiyah Love in some manner, as he is most certainly headed to the NFL. A shout out to Steve Angeli would also be a welcome gesture. As for the game itself, I expect the Irish to play up to the standard that Coach Freeman has set. Unfortunately, that will be bad news for the Orange.

NOTRE DAME 45  SYRACUSE 7 

This is a reprint of John’s original preview article lost in a site technical issue