ESPN College GameDay 2014: Week 8 Schedule, Location, Predictions and More

No. 2-ranked Florida State University may have dropped a spot in The Associated Press and Amway Coaches polls this week, but it is still going to be the center of the college football universe with a marquee opponent on the slate for Week 8.

Kirk Herbstreit and the rest of the ESPN College GameDay crew will head to the city of Tallahassee on the Florida panhandle for the Seminoles' clash against No. 5 Notre Dame.

This is the second time this season that College GameDay has set up shop at Florida State, with the previous visit taking place September 20 when the Seminoles hosted—and defeated—their ACC rivals, the Clemson Tigers.

Both of these illustrious programs are 6-0 on the year and harbor ambitions of reaching the inaugural College Football Playoff. Florida State is coming off a 38-20 road victory over Syracuse, while the Fighting Irish were last seen trading blows with a middling North Carolina program in a 50-43 shootout win in South Bend.

Neither team has been particularly alluring this season despite the unblemished records. Florida State seems to toggle in and out of cruise control against lesser opponents (aka everyone), while Notre Dame has faced just one top-tier opponent in Stanford, which turned out to be a fairly drab affair that the Irish won by a score of 17-14.

Here is the schedule and the coverage info for the show and the game.

ESPN College GameDay Info

When: Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014

Time (ET): 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. (preview show)

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Watch: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Date	Away	Home	Time (ET)	TV	Live Stream
October 18	Notre Dame	Florida State	8 p.m.	ABC	ESPN 3

Notre Dame Will Win Turnover Battle, Defeat Florida State

Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson has turned in some remarkable performances this season, including a five-touchdown effort against the Rice Owls in Week 1 and 25 consecutive completed passes in a 31-15 win over Syracuse.

While still putting up big numbers every week, Golson has struggled with turnovers as of late, something that the Seminoles defense will be quick to take advantage of and turn into extra opportunities for a robust offense led by their Heisman-winning quarterback, Jameis Winston (as if the introduction was really necessary at this point).

As ESPN Stats & Info pointed out during Notre Dame's Week 7 game against North Carolina, Golson's performances have grown increasingly sloppy as the season has progressed:

Golson fumbled twice in that game and threw a costly pick-six.

Forcing Golson into making mistakes is important, but the defense knows it cannot take too many chances against a dual-threat quarterback.

"It's always tough when you have a quarterback that can run and pass because you never know," FSU linebacker Terrance Smith said, via Brendan Sonnone of The Orlando Sentinel. "Even if everybody's locked down in the backfield, he can still pull the ball down and run. So your D-linemen have to have their rush lanes; they have to keep contain on him and keep him bottled up."

The ability to stay disciplined and keep containment on Golson will be a key test for the likes of Smith and defensive ends Mario Edwards Jr. and Lorenzo Featherston.

Golson will almost surely make a few mistakes throwing the ball, but he has played some error-free games this season and can count on sure-handed running back Tarean Folston to safely grind out tough yards. Not only that, but the Seminoles defense, while still one of the toughest in the nation, hasn't done enough to win the turnover battle in most contests.

Florida State has forced 11 turnovers this season, but it has committed 12 of its own. Winston has tossed five interceptions in five starts and will be going up against an opportunistic Fighting Irish defense that has picked off opposing signal-callers 10 times in six games.

Florida State's subdued running game, ranked just 98th in the nation, will struggle against Notre Dame's staunch rush defense, led by linebacker Jaylon Smith and defensive tackle Sheldon Day. The Fighting Irish have given up just 3.23 yards per carry this season, via NCAA.com.

This will force Winston to pass more often than he should have to with an underwhelming running back like Karlos Williams in the fold. This isn't necessarily a bad thing with targets like Rashad Greene and Nick O'Leary, but if things get one-dimensional for the 'Noles, Notre Dame should be able to take advantage.

There is an incredible amount of pressure on Winston and his 'Noles teammates to perform, but the Fighting Irish could be spurred on to greater heights knowing that they have a schedule full of trap games coming up. ESPN.com's Matt Fortuna explains: 

"

Notre Dame travels Nov. 8 to an Arizona State team that currently stands at 4-1. The Irish host the same Louisville team on Nov. 22 that should be FSU's toughest remaining test on Oct. 30, one whose defense currently rivals that of anyone in the country. They also close at rival USC, which is admittedly an enigma right now but has no shortage of talent. 

"

After a marshmallow-soft start to the season, Notre Dame must walk a decidedly tough road from here on out. Should it lose to Florida State, it will have to hope the SEC schools take turns beating each other to have a chance at the playoffs. Look for Golson and the Notre Dame defense to take the extra motivation and turn it into a narrow road victory.

Notre Dame wins 34-30.