#3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish VS Florida State Seminoles: Staff Picks

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 3 big steps away from making the college football playoff. Everything the program has worked for since that craptastic 4-8 season in 2016 has led them to this.

First up... the Florida State Seminoles.

We have a little bit of everything going on here:

• Night game
• Freezing cold game
• Green jersey game
• Senior Day game
• Backup quarterback game

It’s a cornucopia of [insert whatever gif or emoji or sacrificial blood you might have on hand here].

Let’s get to the picks:

Joe Londergan

Notre Dame 41, Florida State 17

FSU’s Brian Burns worries me a little bit, but I think Notre Dame can keep him in check. On the other side of the ball, FSU’s offense has been only slightly better than Louisville’s this year and that’s saying something. The home crowd propels the Irish to another victory here.

Oregon State Beavers 21, Stanford Cardinal 34

The progress is starting to show for Oregon State. When quarterback Jake Luton is healthy, it’s like they are another team completely. That being said, Stanford is simply a better team. The Cardinal will get it done here.

Jude Seymour

Notre Dame 27, Florida State 21

I have fully bought into the narrative that the Seminoles are in disarray, especially as it concerns their quarterback depth chart. I have also fallen hook, line and sinker for the “Florida State has given up and does anyone remember the Sun Bowl against Miami” argument concerning the combination of enthusiasm and piss poor weather.

I do have concerns about the offense under Wimbush, who has played one series since his Week 3 benching. So I’m predicting a closer final score than I otherwise would have. Looks like we’re going to have to sweat out another November home game against an inferior opponent. Or you know, maybe not. My picks are terrible.

Boston College Eagles 35, Clemson Tigers 31

Back in Week 1, I looked at Clemson’s schedule and asked myself, “Which team could legitimately beat them?” I picked Boston College, mostly because I thought the Eagles would be good with A.J. Dillon and the game was in Chestnut Hill. Today, the answer seems more in doubt than it did 10 weeks ago. Clemson is a juggernaut and Boston College has looked good, except for a three game stretch against the Purdue Boilermakers (0% postgame win expectancy), Temple Owls (23% postgame win expectancy) and N.C. State Wolfpack (10% postgame win expectancy).

I’m going to stick with my hot take and pick the Eagles -- who are 20 point underdogs -- to pull off the upset. Get your stormin’ shoes ready, Superfans.

Philip Gough

Notre Dame 31, Florida State 20

Wimbush comes out and plays well, building a decent lead in the first half. The Irish offense takes its foot off the gas in the second half, making this game appear closer than it is (per usual). I am very interested to see how Chip Long utilized Wimbush knowing Book will be back in the lineup (hopefully) next week.

Holy Cross 31, Fordham 21

2 in a row make it a streak. 3 in a row is a hot streak. Chesney continues the positive momentum as Holy Cross takes down the Rams on Senior Day at Fitton Field. Look for a big day out of Senior WR Martin Dorsey. The kid can ball.

Brad Wechter

Notre Dame 37, Florida State 13

Even without Ian Book, I think Notre Dame will do just fine against a Florida State team that looks ready to quit on the season. Irish in the snow.

Miami-Ohio Redhawks 24, Northern Illinois Huskies 21

The RedHawks get a week to enjoy their first win over Ohio U since 2012, and I think they’ll come out just as hot as they did against the Bobcats. I think this game resembles the OU game a lot, and Miami pulls it out late.

Pat Sullivan

Notre Dame Fighting Irish 38, Florida State Seminoles 14

Part of me (my brain) is yelling at me to predict precisely 24 points from a Brandon Wimbush-led team. But screw that, I love Wimbush and think he will have himself a nice game. Furthermore, it’s time for the defense to get back in on the scoring action. I’m feeling a pick-six or a nice sack-fumble-scoop-and-score in these cold, blustery conditions. Irish roll on to 10-0 and gain a little confidence in their ability to finish the regular season undefeated without Ian Book, if it comes to that.

Florida Atlantic Owls 56, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 20

WKU is bad. Sorry Mike Sanford, Jr.

Joey Freshwater puts the young gun and his horrible team in their place, and the Owls ROLLLLLL.

Wes Sweigert

Notre Dame 40, Florida State 13

I was going to pick Notre Dame 41, FSU 13 but without Ian Book I feel that the requisite response is to drop the Irish point total down to 40. In other words, I think the Seminoles have absolutely no chance in this game even if The Subway Domer was starting at QB.

Speaking of having no chance...

UCF Knights 49, Navy Midshipmen 14.

No further explanation needed.

Billy Gorman

Notre Dame 24, Florida State 13

My procrastination pays off, as this pick is coming in post Ian Book news! Florida State has had trouble blocking just about everybody this year and I expect the Irish defenders to feast on whoever is playing quarterback. The worry would be that the Seminoles stop the Irish from running and force Brandon Wimbush to throw which can and probably will happen for stretches of this game, but can they really shut down Wimbush, Dexter Williams, and Jafar Armstrong for 60 minutes? I doubt it.This game will be closer than I thought yesterday, but I still don’t think the outcome is in doubt.

Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns 42, Georgia State Panthers 31

Georgia State has only held two opponents under 30 points all year, and I don’t expect them to stop the Ragin’ Cajuns offense at home in Lafayette. ULL doesn’t have the stoutest of defenses either, but they’ll do enough to get the win at home.

Austin Gallagher

Notre Dame 27, Florida State 6

This got a little more tricky with the recent news regarding Ian Book, but the Irish should definitely still win this game. The spread, however, likely narrows now. With that said, I expect (hope for?) Wimbush to play a very solid game on Senior Night and lead the team to a good, if unspectacular, win over an overmatched ‘Noles team.

Jeff Czerniakowski

Notre Dame 27, Florida State 9

It’s going to be cold and snowy. Florida State will quit by the middle of the second quarter. With Brandon Wimbush leading the offense, the Irish might not score 40 but I think it is still an easy win.

Lisa Kelly

Notre Dame 35, Florida State 21

With the announcement of Book’s injury, mass hysteria has pretty much set in. Let’s not forget we went 3-0 while Wimbush was at the helm. I don’t think there is much of a need for panic at this point. Our running game is strong, and our backs are mostly healthy. Our receiving core is deep. should Wimbush choose to pass. Now our defense needs to hold strong and do their job against the Seminoles. If everyone does their job, we should be one step closer to an undefeated season. Cheers & GO IRISH!

Arkansas Razorbacks 31, LSU Tigers 21

Yep, this is a bold prediction, but as my logic goes, Arkansas did put up 31 points against Alabama, so they should be able to put up just as many on LSU, (who by-the-way but zero points up on Alabama). Arkansas’s defense, though, is going to have to step up and do their job. Here’s to Arkansas finishing out the season strong, and winning on Senior Day. WOO PIG!

Martin Sweigert

Notre Dame 37, Florida State 27

While I do think the absence of Ian Book will be a factor in this game, everything single article, stat, or tweet I have seen regarding FSU confirms the narrative that they are simply not equipped to win this game, even if Notre Dame’s offensive production drops off.

Texas Tech Red Raiders 38, Texas Longhorns 34

Texas fell for the third time last week, which places them squarely in the middle of mediocre. Tech scores points and are looking like a good candidate for an insult-to-injury win over the Longhorns.

Matt Greene

Notre Dame 24, Florida State 13

With Wimbush in at QB on a very cold night, I see the Irish try to start the run game up. I know that FSU has done well to stop the run, and the Irish O-Line has been overall suspect over the last few games. But, putting Brandon, Dexter, and Jafar in the backfield at the same time gets me giddy. I don’t see many TDs in this game. It might be one literally to trudge through. The Irish hang onto enough of a lead where the Florida boys can’t deal with the weather. It won’t be an impressive game, but the Irish move forward yet again.

Central Michigan Chippewas 23, Bowling Green Falcons 17

It’s a MACTION battle of 1-win teams. It’s senior day for the Chips, and they are playing one of their worst opponents. It will take for them to play their 11th game to pick up a win against an FBS team. They are not good, but they FIRE UP enough to get that senior day win. Oh, and they miss the extra point on one of their TDs because that’s the MAC for you.

Lino Garcia

Notre Dame 12, Florida State 3

As someone who lives in a city where our NFL team plays all their home games indoors, I’m not sure how I’ll cope with the snow and below freezing temperatures at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night. The same can be said of the Seminoles. This isn’t SEC country, they’re going to be out of their element. The loss of Ian Book hurts, but that doesn’t change the fact that this Florida State offensive line is one of the worst in the nation. I like the Irish in a low scoring contest.

Eastern Michigan Eagles 27, Akron Zips 24

The Eagles are a shocking 12.5 point favorite coming into this game against a team with a respectable 4-4 record. Rynearson Stadium will be rocking on Saturday, as the Eagles look to clinch their second bowl appearance in three seasons. To put that into context, they only had two bowl appearances in school history prior to 2016. Eagles will get it done at home in a close one

Joshua Vowles

Notre Dame 35, Florida State 13

Notre Dame is going to struggle a bit on offense as the transition back to Brandon Wimbush will be a bit rocky. That’s why I only have the Irish winning by 22 instead of 44. (The Irish defense is pretty dope, so 13 points would be a HUGE deal for the Noles.

Alabama Crimson Tide 54, Mississippi St. Bulldogs 12

This is ridiculous.