The set-up: It's the No. 13 Syracuse Orange vs. the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish from Yankee Stadium in New York on Saturday and in my opinion, this one has defensive battle written all over it. The Orange enter off a high-scoring 54-23 victory over Louisville, while the Irish come in off a 42-13 home beatdown of FSU. Overall Syracuse is averaging 44.4 PPG and allowing 27.6. Notre Dame needs to win today and next week against USC and it'll be going to the College Football playoff. Overall the Irish average 34.5 PPG and they concede only 18.7.

The pick: Take it for what you will, but Syracuse has seen the total go "under" the number in seven of its last nine road games after scoring 52 points or more in a victory in its previous outing. The neutral site affair helps turn this into a lower-scoring "under."

8* play