Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Complete Game Preview

For as important as Saturday afternoon's showdown is for both Notre Dame and Arizona State's playoff resumes, the game between the Irish and the Sun Devils almost didn't happen.

With Notre Dame looking for some scheduling flexibility back in April of 2013, athletic director Jack Swarbrick took to the telephone to try to find a way to solve his scheduling nightmare. Then-Sun Devils athletic director Steve Patterson was less than accommodating. 

With five contracted ACC games topped onto an already complete schedule, Notre Dame was looking to move a game scheduled for Tempe to a later date. That didn't fly with Patterson, who took to the radio waves to cry foul. 

"At least in the little Catholic town I grew up in—Beaver Dam, Wisconsin—the good nuns wouldn’t have thought that was a very appropriate way to honor your word,” Patterson groused on Phoenix's XTRA Sports 910 AM. 

While Patterson didn't stick around (he took the Texas AD job), the game did. And it's a good thing, it turns out.

If Notre Dame wants to get into the four-team playoff, they need an impressive victory against one of the Pac-12's top teams. 

After beating the Sun Devils last year in the Shamrock Series game played in Dallas, let's get ready for Saturday afternoon's battle in Tempe. 

Date: Saturday, November 8

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

Place: Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona

TV: ABC

Radio: IMG College Sports, SiriusXM Channel 129

Spread: Arizona State by 1, according to Odds Shark.

Notre Dame Keys to Victory

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Everett Golson Needs to Be the Best Player on the Field

Last Saturday night, Everett Golson carried the Irish to victory over a very scrappy Navy team. Golson's six touchdowns—three via the pass, three on the ground—were too much for the Midshipmen to overcome, with Golson willing the Irish to a much harder victory than many expected. 

Against Arizona State, Notre Dame's quarterback needs to be the best player on the field. With Todd Graham likely attacking the Irish offense with blitzes early and often, Golson will have the opportunity to make big plays, but he'll need to use his head first and his talent second to make that happen. 

The opportunity for big plays will be there. Arizona State's defense gave up a ridiculous five plays of 80 yards or more against UCLA alone. Golson will need to balance good decisions with aggressiveness.  

Without Joe Schmidt, Notre Dame's Even Younger Defense Needs to Keep Their Heads

There was a nightmare scenario taking place on the field against Navy. Without senior linebacker Joe Schmidt, and with key starters Sheldon Day, Jarron Jones and James Onwualu banged up, Notre Dame's defense had five freshman trying to stop Navy's triple option. 

Things went about as well as you'd expect, with the Midshipmen storming back from a 28-7 deficit, briefly taking the lead before the Irish caught their breath and put Navy away. But the reality of Schmidt's season-ending ankle injury is that the heart of the Irish defense will need to be replaced. 

The talent to overcome the injury is there. Freshman Nyles Morgan was one of the most coveted recruits in the country. But finding a way to replace Schmidt's on-field acumen will be critical. Schmidt was essentially another coach on the field for the Irish, the man responsible for getting the Irish into the many different looks defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder showed. 

Against Arizona State, a team with the capability to score points in bunches and move at tempo, the Irish faced a stiff test even at full strength. Doing it without Schmidt will be even tougher. 

Arizona State Keys to Victory

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Get the Rust Completely off Taylor Kelly

Entering the season, you could've made a pretty compelling argument for Taylor Kelly as a Heisman Trophy candidate. Coming off two impressive seasons, Kelly performed like a prototype quarterback in the spread offense—deadly throwing the football, a great decision-maker and an athletic enough runner to beat you with his legs. 

But a foot injury suffered early in the season kept Kelly off the field for three weeks, and he's yet to be the same quarterback after returning. While the Sun Devils have beaten Washington and Utah with Kelly back in the starting lineup, they did so in decidedly defensive fashion, with Kelly throwing an interception in both victories (and nearly throwing three others against Utah).

Kelly's feet look healthy. They were a key down the stretch against Utah, as he ran for 55 yards on 14 attempts in the overtime victory over the Utes. But in a game that could turn into a scoring fest, Kelly will need to get back on track in the passing game for the Sun Devils to win. 

Keep Up the Defensive Momentum

After giving up 62 points to UCLA in a game that got ugly quickly, the Arizona State defense has stiffened considerably. While USC was able to score 34 points against the Sun Devils, defensive coordinator Keith Patterson has turned things around, with ASU holding Stanford, Washington and Utah to 10, 10 and 16 points respectively.

One of the keys to improvement has been the shift of linebacker Antonio Longino. Moving to the Will linebacker, Longino has turned into the playmaker the Sun Devils staff expected. Combined with improved secondary play and a pass rush that's been effective, the Arizona State defense still has shown some struggles against the run, but they've won with defense for the first time in Graham's tenure in Tempe. 

Matched up against a Notre Dame offense that's the best unit they've faced this season, the Sun Devils will have their hands full. Still, their confidence is high heading into the weekend. 

Notre Dame Players to Watch

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Tarean Folston

For the second week in a row, sophomore Tarean Folston broke the 20-carry mark, becoming the first Notre Dame running back to go over 120 yards rushing in consecutive games since Darius Walker did it in 2006. Against a Sun Devils defense that is ranked 90th against the run and allows a hearty 4.37 yards per carry, Folston could have another big ball game. 

In Notre Dame's last road test, a balanced offensive attack was critical against Florida State. With Brian Kelly knowing he'll likely need to not just score points, but possess the ball and keep it out of Arizona State's hands, riding Folston for another week makes a ton of sense. 

That was the recipe against Arizona State in last year's victory over the Sun Devils, though Cam McDaniel and George Atkinson carried the load. This Saturday, it'll be Folston's turn. 

Nyles Morgan

Irish fans wanted a chance to see what Morgan could do at middle linebacker. While they didn't want to see Joe Schmidt go down for Morgan to earn the chance, the Irish defense will likely sink or swim based around the production they get from the talented freshman. 

Against Navy, we saw the good and bad of the former blue-chipper. His four tackles included a few sledge-hammer collisions and one tackle for loss. But his missed assignments cost the Irish, including a blown coverage late on the Midshipmen's two-point conversion and over-running another touchdown run. 

Morgan's athleticism and instincts were obvious from the minute he hit the field. Now he'll have to showcase those skills against one of the Pac-12's best teams. 

Arizona State Players to Watch

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Jaelen Strong

Last year, Strong gave Notre Dame's secondary all it could handle, catching eight passes for 136 yards and a touchdown. The Sun Devils' best offensive weapon is in the middle of another big season, racking up 821 yards and eight touchdowns for an offense that's bounced between quarterbacks. 

At 6'3", 215 pounds, the redshirt junior presents a physical mismatch waiting to happen against undersized cornerback Cody Riggs. And facing off against fellow Philadelphia Catholic League star Will Fuller, expect Strong to try to win the high-profile battle. 

Strong has scored six touchdowns over his last four games, three coming in a 10-catch, 202-yard performance against USC that ended on his Hail Mary game-winner. Expect Brian VanGorder to keep extra eyes on Strong, knowing the receiver is good enough to break open the game on every touch. 

Damarious Randall

The former Junior College All-American is now a fifth-year senior and the heart of the Sun Devils secondary. After finishing last season with 71 tackles, Randall has already eclipsed that number in 2014, with 73 stops, including a ridiculous 64 solo tackles, the most by any defensive back in college football. 

The safety is solid in coverage, with five pass breakups and five passes defended, but he's also one of Todd Graham's favorite blitzers, as his 7.5 tackles for loss illustrate. Anchoring a secondary that will face off with Notre Dame's talented receiving corps, you'll likely hear Randall's name called early and often on Saturday.   

What They're Saying

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"I think it'd be silly to say this is like any other game. It's not any other game to me. Growing up a football fan, getting an opportunity like this late in the year... This is the kind of game you want to coach in, the kind of games our players want to play in and obvious our fans want to see. So I'm looking forward to seeing a packed house and creating a memory." —Todd Graham on playing Notre Dame. 

"Aggressive defenses, innovative on offense. I think that those characteristics have equaled wins, right? He's won at Tulsa. He was a highly successful high school coach, and certainly from Tulsa obviously to Pittsburgh and then Pittsburgh obviously to Arizona State, he's won. He's been a successful coach. It's not surprising that he's created a buzz at Arizona State... He's done it wherever he's been. He's been a winner wherever he's coached." —Brian Kelly on Todd Graham. 

"He is a really, really good quarterback. The way he extends plays is the main issue. He's very accurate throwing the football. He has a very strong arm... He's got a lot of confidence and probably top to bottom, he's got the best receiving corps that we've faced." —Todd Graham on Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson. 

"Jaelen Strong is as good as any wide receiver in the country. Big, athletic, fast, he reminds me of Michael Floyd." —Brian Kelly on Arizona State wide receiver Jaelen Strong. 

Prediction

LM Otero/Associated Press

That Notre Dame enters Saturday as a narrow underdog tells you how much respect this Arizona State team is garnering. Yet for all the question marks surrounding the Irish, the Sun Devils have been dancing along a razor's edge this year. 

The leaders of the Pac-12 South have needed a fair amount of luck this season. That's included a game-winning Hail Mary to beat USC and Utah's usually clutch field-goal kicker to miss (twice) in overtime to set up last weekend's Sun Devils victory. 

While Todd Graham has battled Brian Kelly hard at Tulsa, Pitt and Arizona State, the Irish's blueprint for victory in last year's Shamrock Series game should serve as the base for this year's game plan as well. And with Everett Golson directing the Irish offense, there is a way larger offensive menu to choose from. 

Most look at Notre Dame's struggles against Navy as a sign of weakness. Not the Irish coaching staff, who understand that playing the Midshipmen is a survive-and-advance week that tests Notre Dame's defense in ways few programs can. 

While the defense needs to get healthy quickly before taking on the Sun Devils, Arizona State's offense hasn't shown itself to be the explosive unit it was last season. Even in front of a fired-up, mid-afternoon crowd, the Irish will handle their business and reemerge as a legitimate contender for the College Football Playoff. 

Final Score: Notre Dame 34, Arizona State 24

*Unless otherwise noted, all quotes obtained firsthand.