If anyone had expected Florida State to have this bad of a season, this game probably would not be a night game. With the Seminoles failing to generate more than 300 yards of offense in any game this season and defeating only ACC newcomer Cal, there’s no reason this shouldn’t be a blowout in favor of the Irish.
Notre Dame is coming off one of, if not its most, impressive win of the season so far, handling Navy, 51-14, and giving the Midshipmen their first loss of the season. The Irish recovered five fumbles and caused several more, showing that their defense, despite many key players being out with injuries, remains a force to be contended with.
While the odds are in their favor, there is no room for complacency in the Notre Dame locker room. The Irish do not need a repeat of Northern Illinois.
No. 1: Score early, score often
The Seminoles are 1-8. They are already coming into this game disheartened. This is almost an argument that it would be better for Notre Dame if they started the game with the ball rather than deferring to the second half if they win the coin toss. Making the Florida State offense play the entire game behind could just completely deflate the Seminoles and help the Irish make quick work of one of last year’s top teams.
Notre Dame has a lot of offensive weapons. The Irish can beat you on the ground with running backs or quarterbacks. They’ve shown in this second half of the season they can beat you through the air as well.
No. 2: Have a positive turnover margin
A turnover against No. 10 Notre Dame could motivate the Seminoles to rise above the level of play we’ve seen out of Florida State so far this season. Obviously, sloppy play against a poorly regarded team will not be looked upon favorably by the College Football Playoff committee. Notre Dame needs to keep the Seminoles on their heels all game to win by as great a margin as possible, which includes generating turnovers.
No. 3: Put in younger players
Look, if everything goes right, and if Notre Dame is the kind of team that deserves to be in the playoff, the Irish should pull away from Florida State quickly. When they do, I’d really like to see them put in the younger players as soon as possible. Junior quarterback Steve Angeli deserves some reps of course, but giving the two young quarterbacks sitting behind him a solid bit of time will be huge for their continued development and the future of this program. Notre Dame has a recent tradition of having older quarterbacks transfer in, and that’s a fine temporary solution, but what incentive will that give to recruits to commit to play in South Bend?
Beyond the quarterback position, this is an ideal game to get players who rarely see the field in as the crowd will bring high levels of energy, and the opponent has been struggling to find any positives from this season.
