Champs Sports Bowl 2011: Breaking Down Florida State's Date with Notre Dame

The 2011 Champs Sports Bowl will feature a battle between two talented teams that failed to meet lofty preseason expectations.

This season was supposed to be a return to glory for both the Seminoles and the Fighting Irish.

Second-year head coaches Jimbo Fisher and Brian Kelly both endured trying years on and off the field, with both schools bouncing back from narrow early-season losses to finish 8-4. 

Both programs are far away from their "Game of the Century" clash in 1993, but the winner of this meeting will enter 2012 with another shot to ascend into the territory of the nation’s elite powerhouses. 

So which team will cap off their season with an impressive bowl victory?

Find out in this breakdown of the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. 

Offense

Both teams come into this meeting with lingering question marks on offense.

Notre Dame will likely play two quarterbacks, sophomores Tommy Rees (who started for the majority of the year) and Andrew Hendrix (who came on in relief of an ineffective and injured Rees in the second half of the Irish’s 28-14 loss at Stanford). 

Regardless of who gets the nod at quarterback, he will have plenty of weapons to choose from to attack the vaunted Seminoles defense. 

Florida State has struggled against elite receivers this season (e.g., Clemson’s Sammy Watkins, Oklahoma’s Kenny Stills and Wake Forest’s Chris Givens all had more than 100 yards and recorded touchdowns against FSU), and it will have its hands full with Michael Floyd and tight end Tyler Eifert, a finalist for the Mackey Award that's given to the nation’s top tight end.   

Meanwhile, the Noles come into this matchup trying to reverse the course for a unit that faded drastically in November, culminating with an absurd 95 yards of total offense in the season finale at Florida. 

Injuries at every position, especially at offensive line, have hindered the Seminoles' once-potent attack. However, FSU quarterback E.J. Manuel can hurt the Irish with his arms and his legs. His main weapons flanking him will be true freshman running back Devonta Freeman and wide receiver Rashad Greene. 

Both teams will likely struggle on offense, but given the Noles' instability in the trenches, Notre Dame gets the slight nod.

Edge: Notre Dame

Defense

While Florida State’s offense floundered down the stretch, their defense got stronger as the year went on and finished sixth nationally in total defense. 

The Seminoles are especially stout against the run, allowing only slightly more than 80 yards per game (second only to Alabama nationally). 

Defensive ends Brandon Jenkins and Bjoern Werner lead a unit that averaged three sacks per game, and keeping them off Rees and Hendrix will be a chore for the Irish's offensive line. 

Notre Dame finished 34th in the country in total defense after allowing just under 350 yards per game. Junior linebacker Manti Te'o, a second-team All-American (111 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks this season), is the team leader and a guy FSU will have to account for on every play. 

While the Irish improved as the year went on, its main struggle was forcing turnovers (only 13 takeaways this season). 

FSU gets the advantage because of their overall talent level and considerable depth across the board on defense. 

Edge: Florida State

Special Teams

Notre Dame possesses one of the nation's finest return men in freshman George Atkinson III, who averaged just more than 27 yards per return and ran two kickoffs back for touchdowns this season. 

Senior David Ruffer connected on 10-of-15 field goal attempts with a long of 52 yards, while Ben Turk averaged more than 40 yards per punt for the Irish. 

Those numbers are solid, but the Seminoles may possess the best special teams unit in the entire nation. 

Kicker Dustin Hopkins (20-of-25 on field goal attempts) was a Lou Groza Award finalist, and consensus All-American punter Shawn Powell’s 47-yard average led the nation. Greg Reid is a fearless and electric return man capable of breaking a game open when the ball touches his hands. 

Hopkins doubles as FSU’s kickoff man (29 touchbacks this season), and is capable of negating Atkinson with his booming leg, which gains the Seminoles another advantage in this matchup.

Edge: Florida State

Coaching

While both coaches in this matchup are in their second season at their current schools, Brian Kelly is wrapping up his ninth season as a head coach on the FBS level. 

Kelly is 3-1 in bowl games, including last season’s 33-17 blowout win over Miami (Fla.) in the Sun Bowl. 

Fisher may be less experienced as a head coach, but he won his first bowl as a head coach last year in impressive fashion with a 26-17 win over South Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. 

Fisher also served as offensive coordinator at LSU from 2000-2006, where the Tigers compiled a 5-2 record in bowl games during his tenure, including a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the 2003 BCS National Championship Game. 

While both programs seem to be on similar levels of their rebuilding phases, Kelly's experience gets him the nod here. 

Edge: Notre Dame

Intangibles

With the game taking place in Orlando, Florida State should enjoy a decided advantage in the stands.

Notre Dame went 3-2 in road games (all against bowl teams) this season, but their losses came against BCS teams Michigan and Stanford. 

Another factor the Irish will have to overcome is their tendency to end up on the wrong side of the turnover margin. The Irish rank 116th in the country in that statistic and finished minus-13 for the year. 

Considering those two factors, plus the Seminoles' decided advantage in the special teams phase and Notre Dame’s uncertainty at quarterback, FSU gets the call here. 

Edge: Florida State

Prediction

With two of college football’s most recognizable programs meeting for only the seventh time, this game represents one of most intriguing non-BCS bowl matchups this season. 

Florida State and Notre Dame need a win to galvanize another offseason that would surely be filled with hope and great expectations for 2012. Both programs are on the rise, as evidenced by their turnaround on the field and on the recruiting trail. 

Based on their advantages at quarterback, defensive line and in the special teams phase, look for the Seminoles to notch their fourth consecutive bowl victory. 

Prediction: Florida State 20, Notre Dame 16