Florida State will try to avoid losing three straight games on Saturday as it heads to South Bend to take on No. 3 and undefeated Notre Dame. The contest will be the first meeting between the schools since 2014.
The story lines surrounding the contest have involved the quarterbacks. FSU was slow to disclose whether it would be redshirt junior Deondre Francois or sophomore James Blackman who would start. Notre Dame will be without Ian Book and turn to senior Brandon Wimbush.
The Match-Up
Who: Florida State Seminoles (4-5) at No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-0)
Where: Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
When: 7:30 p.m. EST
Network: NBC
Spread: Notre Dame -17*
Last Week: FSU fell to NC State, 47-28; Notre Dame topped Northwestern, 31-21.
Key Players
For Florida State
Tamorrion Terry, WR (R-Fr.): 23 catches, 505 yards receiving, 22 YPR, 7 TD catches
Brian Burns, DE (Jr.): 32 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 9 sacks, 3 FF, FR
Hamsah Nasirildeen, S (So.): 72 tackles, 0.5 TFL
For Notre Dame
Dexter Williams, RB (Sr.): 568 rush yards, 6.1 YPC, 8 TD rushes,
Miles Boykin, WR (Sr.): 40 catches, 624 yards receiving, 15.6 YPR, 7 TD catches
Jerry Tillery, DT (R-Sr.): 28 tackles, 8.5 TFL, 7 sacks, 3 FF
Series History
All-Time Series: Florida State leads 6-2
Last Meeting: FSU won in Tallahassee, 31-27 (Oct. 18, 2014)
Last Meeting in South Bend: Florida State won, 37-0 (Nov. 1, 2003)
First Meeting: Florida State won in South Bend, 19-13 (Oct. 10, 1981)
Notable Contests
The 1993 contest dubbed “The Game of the Century” in South Bend featured No. 1 FSU and No. 2 Notre Dame. The Seminoles fell behind 24-7 in the contest, but twice drew to within seven. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward passed for 297 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, but his final pass was knocked down near the goal line as the Fighting Irish prevailed, 31-24. Notre Dame would lose the next week to Boston College and FSU would go on to claim its first national title.
FSU and Notre Dame met in the Orange Bowl to cap the 1995 season. FSU had won 10 straight bowl games, but trailed 26-14 with less than 10 minutes to play. Thanks to Danny Kanell touchdown passes to E.G. Green and Andre Cooper and a safety with 2:02 to play, FSU would score the game’s final 17 points and prevail, 31-26. The win allowed FSU to notch an 11th straight bowl win and ninth straight top-5 finish.
Second-ranked and defending national champion Florida State was riding a 22-game winning streak when Notre Dame came to Tallahassee on Oct. 18, 2014. The Fighting Irish led most of the way, but FSU was able to grab the lead on Karlos Williams’ short touchdown run with less than eight minutes to play. Facing 4th-and-goal with 17 seconds to play, Notre Dame looked to have came through in the clutch when Everett Golson hit Corey Robinson for the apparent 2-yard touchdown but offensive pass interference negated the potential game-winner. FSU linebacker Jacob Pugh’s second interception of the night on the very next play secured the 31-27 victory for the Seminoles.
What’s at Stake
For Florida State: FSU will look to move to within one of bowl-eligibility, get back to .500 and beat a ranked opponent for the first time since Michigan in the Orange Bowl to close the 2016 season. FSU will also try to avoid losing three straight games since 2011.
For Notre Dame: Notre Dame looks to remain undefeated and in line for a berth in the College Football Playoff. The Fighting Irish can also clinch a third 10-win season in four years.
Fun Fact
Florida State hasn’t defeated a top-5 team since its 31-27 victory over Notre Dame in 2014.
*According to Bovada
Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson
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