The Anti-Preview: #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish VS Florida State Seminoles

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 9-0 and ranked #3 by the college football playoff committee. That sounds pretty damn good to me — and yet there are far too many “hold me I’m Irish” fans flooding up my social media timelines.

The wonderful @phillykelly

Get a grip y’all.

The Irish will play host to the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday, and unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you should already know that kickoff temperatures are going to be around 27 degrees. The Noles are a 4-5 team that has a terrible offensive line, and are basically “done” as far as their attitudes are concerned.

It’s been a season full of struggles for the Noles and their new head coach, Willie Taggart. Here’s three simple stats (don’t need advanced stats for this) that should explain how much Florida State has struggled:

• 76.9 rushing yards per game (128th)
• 23.8 points scored per game (107th)
• 30.4 points scored against (85th)

The Irish do have their own issues as Ian Book is injured and Brandon Wimbush will start against the Noles (still not officially announced by Notre Dame). And depending on how superstitious you are, the Irish will also wear green jerseys for this game.

So... we better get to this Anti-Preview before anything else changes.

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DRINKING?

There is no better way to end a Senior Day than some type of redemption. Brandon Wimbush is going to get that chance, so we pay homage to that idea.

The Burning Bush

• 1 1/2 ounces your favorite bourbon or whiskey
• 1 ounce honey
• 3 ounces water (hot)
• Garnish: lemon wedge

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE EATING?

I guess we could go in just about any direction here, but I thought given the weather situation, we could embrace it fully.

Break out the grill, and go whatever route you want. We are keeping it simple.

BLIZZARD BURGERS

WHAT SHOULD YOU BE WEARING?

There’s no other way to get around it... it’s going to be cold for the game. Even though the Irish will now be wearing green jerseys, I don’t believe a #greenout is remotely possible. You better stay warm. Carhartt it up (or go shirtless — I don’t care).

SOME OTHER STUFF

It seems like this is a game of small variables.

• Florida State is having their own QB situation with James Blackman and Deondre Francois.
• The Noles have a fairly stout run defense, but have been getting torched through the air. Brandon Wimbush at quarterback could be perceived in two different ways here, but the blueprint is most likely the Michigan game.
• Alize Mack is back.
• Drue Tranquill is full go.
• It’s just time to rip it.

AT THE END OF THE NIGHT...

Before the Ian Book situation, I was fully prepared to predict a 49-17 victory for the Irish. Now, it gets a little tricky. Brandon Wimbush is going to have to hit Miles Boykin, Chase Claypool, Chris Finke, and Alize Mack a little more than he has in the past. I’m not sure if that means the Irish should try to push the ball more downfield along the sideline — but it should be the plan.

I think the Irish do exactly that on offense. They will loosen the defense up a bit with those shots downfield, and feature a strong zone option running attack with Wimbush, Dexter Williams, and Jafar Armstrong. It won’t be an explosive offense, but an inspired defense led by Jerry Tillery, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara, Drue Tranquill, Julian Love, and more; gives that offense plenty of chances. IRISH 35, FSU 10