Notre Dame vs. FSU: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

This season, it gets no bigger than Saturday night when the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to Tallahassee for a showdown against the No. 2 Florida State Seminoles that's laden with College Football Playoff implications.

Granted, both teams have contributed to the preseason favorite for game of the year losing a bit of its luster in recent weeks. The Seminoles lost the top ranking in the land due to a lackluster schedule, and the Fighting Irish nearly overlooked unranked North Carolina before winning in a shootout, 50-43.

Still, the teams are led by two of the nation's top quarterbacks and overall rosters forged for the inaugural CFP. Even though credibility is on the line for both, as might be the No. 1 ranking, the encounter boils down to a decisive moment in the lead-up to the first CFP.

History will be written Saturday night between two powers.

Behind Undefeated Arms

The story writes itself.

In one corner is Florida State's Jameis Winston. Last year's Heisman Trophy winner is better in some areas that last year, already touting 1,605 yards with 11 touchdowns to five interceptions while completing 70 percent of his passes. Do not forget a pair of touchdowns with his legs, too.

In the other corner is Notre Dame's Everett Golson, who returned to the team this year and has 1,683 passing yards with 16 touchdowns to four interceptions while completing 62.5 percent of his passes. Remember the 209 rushing yards and four scores, too.

Both men are undefeated in the regular season to date, as ESPN CollegeFootball puts into visual form:

For both men, though, the contest is more than just a potential career-defining win or loss.

Winston helps the Seminoles to average 39.0 points per game, but one of the nation's most polarizing players needs the win to shake the narrative that he pads his stats against poor competition. He missed the game against Clemson, and in the 37-31 season-opening win against Oklahoma State, he threw one touchdown to a pair of interceptions.

Golson's Fighting Irish average 34.5 points, but his play has taken a severe dip in recent weeks. Staggering turnover issues, as explained by Jared Shanker and Matt Fortuna of ESPN.com, can and will doom the Fighting Irish early Saturday:

"

Last Saturday against North Carolina, all three of his turnovers were converted into easy touchdowns. One was on an interception return, and twice he fumbled near his own end zone. Against Stanford, he threw a critical red-zone interception and fumbled inside his own 10 in a game where points were at a premium. When the Irish played Syracuse, a Golson interception was returned for a touchdown and he fumbled twice, one of which was inside the red zone.

"

In a perfect world, one of the two quarterbacks rises to the occasion and etches his name permanently in the Heisman Trophy race while lifting his team to the CFP.

But as the season so far suggests, things will be more difficult than anticipated for both.

Controversy, Distractions and Letdowns

USA TODAY Sports

Fans understand that a matchup has some controversy surrounding it when even Las Vegas elects to start pulling the betting odds from the table.

The controversy portion of the equation comes from a number of off-field issues for Winston, including yet another collegiate autograph scandal, as a Stats LLC report, via ESPN.com, notes.

As mentioned, the Seminoles also have to counter the rankings drop, something that star corner P.J. Williams says is simply motivation to avoid a letdown against the Fighting Irish Saturday. 

"Every week we look to do that," Williams said, per Stats. "But when we're playing a bigger team on a bigger stage, we definitely look to play a lot harder and show everybody that we are one of the best teams and we can definitely compete on that level. I definitely like having doubters."

Notre Dame has to simply play up to its competition. That sounds like an easy enough task for the No. 5 team in the land, but the team has now played down to the level of its competition against Purdue (granted, a historical rivalry game), Stanford and North Carolina.

How the Fighting Irish respond when actually an underdog—scratch that, a severe underdog, as ESPN Stats & Info illustrates—is something the nation has waited all season to see:

At times, it can be cliche to paint the picture as a contest of which team can rise to the occasion, but for a pair of would-be contenders fending off past and current demons, that aspect of the season's top contest is quite difficult to dismiss. 

When: Saturday, October 18, 8 p.m. ET

Where: Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Television: ABC

Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):

• Over/Under: N/A

• Spread: Notre Dame (-13.5)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Nicky Baratti	S	09/15/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	shoulder
DaVaris Daniels	WR	08/15/2014	will miss the entire season	Suspended	disciplinary
Jarrett Grace	LB	09/03/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	knee
Eilar Hardy	S	08/29/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Mike Heuerman	TE	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Florida State	Questionable	hernia
Will Mahone	WR	08/02/2014	was dismissed from the team	Out	disciplinary
Kendall Moore	LB	08/15/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
KeiVarae Russell	CB	08/15/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary
Ishaq Williams	LB	08/18/2014	is suspended indefinitely	Suspended	disciplinary

Player	Pos.	Date	Details	Status	Injury
Austin Barron	C	10/06/2014	is out indefinitely	Out	arm
Demarcus Christmas	DT	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Questionable	ankle
Isaiah Jones	WR	08/16/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	academics
Nile Lawrence-Stample	DT	09/24/2014	will miss the remainder of the season	Out	pectoral
Sean Maguire	QB	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Questionable	hand
Trey Marshall	DB	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Questionable	concussion
Derrick Mitchell Jr	DT	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Questionable	knee
Mario Pender	EB	10/12/2014	is questionable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Questionable	ankle
Delvin Purifoy	LB	08/31/2014	will miss the entire season	Out	ankle
Matthew Thomas	LB	10/13/2014	is probable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Probable	disciplinary
Karlos Williams	RB	10/13/2014	is probable for Saturday's game against Notre Dame	Probable	ankle

Injury reports per The Sports Network, via USA Today.

Prediction

It is difficult to see how Notre Dame comes away with a win Saturday. 

The Fighting Irish are 1-16 versus Top Five opposition since 1999, with eight losses in a row, seven of which came by a minimum of 13 points. Now keep in mind that Brian Kelly's team has played four games at home and two at neutral sites.

A young team with a suddenly turnover-prone leader playing its first game in hostile territory against Florida State? It is a scary recipe to say the least.

Winston and Co. are certainly not perfect, and points will not come easy against a Fighting Irish defense that ranks No. 8 in the nation with an average of 17.2 points surrendered per game. But they will come at home, especially if the defense can cash in on a few turnovers.

Expect Florida State to remain on track for the CFP.

Prediction: Seminoles 30, Fighting Irish 28

Statistics and info courtesy of ESPN unless otherwise specified.