Series History:
- Notre Dame and Syracuse are meeting for the seventh time in the series history. Each team has won three of the previous matchups.
- In the last meeting, Syracuse topped Notre Dame, 24-23, in South Bend in 2008 on Notre Dame’s Senior Day. The Irish dropped to 6-5 at the time and finished 7-6 in former head coach Charlie Weis’ penultimate season at the helm. The Orange scored the game-winning touchdown with 42 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Syracuse quarterback Cameron Dantley, the son of former Irish basketball star Adrian Dantley tossed the 11-yard strike.
- In 2005, the No. 6 Irish steamrolled Syracuse, 34-10, at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish won the following week in the regular-season finale against Stanford before falling in the Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.
- Forty years after they’re last meeting, Notre Dame and Syracuse faced off in 2003 at Syracuse in the regular-season finale. The Orange scored 28 second-half points to top the Irish, 38-12. Notre Dame finished 5-7 on the season and has only had one losing season since (2007).
The Observer from Nov. 24, 2008.
Top Performances:
- In the 2005 meeting, former Irish running back Darius Walker scampered for 123 yards on 23 carriess.
- Former Irish receiver Golden Tate tallied seven receptions for 146 yards and one touchdown in the 2008 loss to Syracuse.