Notre Dame will travel to Tempe, Arizona on Saturday to battle fellow playoff contender Arizona State University (7-1). The Sun Devils are currently ranked #9 by the Playoff Committee, so this matchup essentially is an elimination game. ASU has registered wins against Stanford, USC, and most recently Utah, but fell apart in a 62-27 home loss to UCLA earlier in the year. The Irish are coming off a tougher than expected battle against Navy last week and have several walking wounded heading into this contest. Kickoff is at 3:30 PM Eastern time and the game will be nationally televised by ABC.

Arizona State is coached by a familiar name in Todd Graham, who is in his third season in Tempe after coaching teams from Tulsa (2010) and Pittsburgh (2011) against Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish. Graham is 11-6 at ASU and 1-2 in his matchups with Kelly. When they visit Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday, it will mark the fourth time in the past five seasons that Graham has coached against the Irish. The two teams battled last season in a Shamrock Series game in Dallas, with Notre Dame coming out on top by 37-34.

November is the time of the season where most teams are fighting through injury and testing the depth of their rosters, and both squads certainly fall into this category. ASU left guard Christian Westerman missed last week’s game against Utah with a knee injury and is questionable this week. Sophomore Stephon McCray, who made his first career start in place of Westerman, is the next man in for Graham. Tight end De’Marieya Nelson has seen limited action lately due to injury with Kody Kohl filling in. Defensive end Demetrius Cherry returns to the lineup after a one week suspension for a DUI, but nose tackle Jaxon Hood will sit out this game for undisclosed reasons.

For the Irish, freshman linebacker Nyles Morgan is being prepped to start in place of leading tackler Joe Schmidt, whose broken ankle has sidelined him for the season. Defensive linemen Jarron Jones (ankle) and Sheldon Day (shoulder) are nursing injuries, but will start. Wide receiver Corey Robinson is also hobbled but should see action.

In light of the fact that young defensive players are seeing significant time for both teams, it would not be surprising to see another high scoring shootout between these teams. Notre Dame survived such games with North Carolina and Navy, and the pressure will once again be on Everett Golson to convert scoring chances into points. The margin of error is relatively small, as evidenced by the fact that Golson’s lone turnover last week altered the complexion of the game from a near blowout to a nail-biter.

NOTRE DAME’S OFFENSE vs. ARIZONA STATE’S DEFENSE

Tarean Folston has delivered 122 yards per game since taking over the starting tailback job three weeks ago. The talented sophomore will be a key factor in keeping the ball away from ASU and sharing the offensive burden with Golson. The Irish offensive line should have an advantage this week, particularly with Hood out of the lineup. The Sun Devils are giving up an average of 181 rushing yards coming into this contest, so Kelly should be able to maintain balance in his play calling.

Graham is happy with the progress made by his young defense, especially in the last three weeks following the UCLA debacle. The unit lost nine starters from last season, and Hood is the best player among the returnees. He will be replaced by sophomore Viliami Latu, who will join ends Marcus Hardison, the team leader in sacks, and Cherry up front.

Three young linebackers have made excellent strides to help ASU seize control of the PAC-12 South. Antonio Longino, Salamo Fiso and Laiu Moeakiola have accounted for 143 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, and six sacks. Behind them in the secondary is a pair of quality safeties in Jordan Simone and Damarius Randle, who is the only senior starter in the back seven. Simone and Randle lead the team in tackles and have more between them than the three linebackers.

The Sun Devils will have some difficulty with Notre Dame’s power running attack and have also not seen a quarterback as talented and versatile as Golson since UCLA’s Brett Hundley, who burned them for 355 passing yards and four touchdowns, including a pair of 80-yard bombs. The hosts are obviously very excited to play the Irish and will have a lot of energy early in the game, but Kelly can use any over-aggressiveness against them. Golson should look to throw the deep ball off play action once the running threat is established. Will Fuller, who seemed to disappear against Navy, needs to have a strong effort for the visitors.

ARIZONA STATE’S OFFENSE vs. NOTRE DAME’S DEFENSE

Quarterback Taylor Kelly missed several games due to injury this season, but backup Mike Bercovici filled in and performed extremely well. The game-winning Hail Mary against USC was by far his brightest moment and that pass effectively enabled the Sun Devils to become a top ten team. Kelly has improved each game since his return and is by far the better running threat. Jaelen Strong is the team’s go-to receiver with 57 catches and eight touchdowns on the season. Cameron Smith is another likely target with good speed for Kelly to utilize.

ASU also directs a number of passes to talented running back D.J. Foster, who is the second leading receiver with 38 catches. Foster will present a difficult matchup in coverage for Notre Dame’s Morgan, and Kelly will test those waters on Saturday. A balanced attack is no problem for the Sun Devils, who have rushed for nearly 200 yards per game and gained an average of 484 total yards. Foster runs behind a serviceable offensive line led senior left tackle Jamil Douglas. The potential loss of Westerman at guard could be problematic if Day and Jones are healthy enough to apply their customary pressure up the middle.

The Sun Devil staff will attempt to exploit the young Irish defenders and try to match scores with Golson. Taylor Kelly is bound to have some success despite Notre Dame’s plan to simplify the defensive calls now that Schmidt is on the sidelines. An up-tempo approach is also a possibility now that other teams have demonstrated that Notre Dame’s young defenders are vulnerable to this strategy. Strong is a particularly dangerous receiver whose crisp pass routes and exceptional ball skills will require close attention by the Irish safeties, and Kelly’s ability to scramble for meaningful yardage adds yet another concern to the mix.

The battle in the trenches will determine whether ASU can run the ball well enough to stay with Notre Dame and protect Kelly such that he can find open receivers. A healthy and full strength Irish defensive front would be good enough to control the line of scrimmage and force the Sun Devils into a one-dimensional attack, but that is far from a certainty today. The critical issue may be whether the Brian VanGorder’s charges can maintain assignment discipline and avoid getting burned for big plays.

SPECIAL TEAMS

The Sun Devils may have an advantage in the kicking game as Zane Gonzalez is battle tested and very reliable from 45 yards in. Unfortunately for the Irish, Kyle Brindza has been disturbingly erratic in the past few weeks and has missed badly on a number of makeable kicks. Matt Haack has been a competent punter for the Sun Devils and Kelly has chipped in with five pooch punts when called upon, four of which were downed inside the 20.

The punt return game has not produced very many yards for ASU, but Kyle Middlebrooks has done a credible job returning kickoffs. This element of the game has been a disappointment for Notre Dame of late after a promising start to the season. The Sun Devils have experienced problems covering punts and were victimized for a 100 yard kick return earlier this year, so there is opportunity for the Irish if they come into the game with the right mindset.

SUMMARY

Both teams have excellent skill position talent and are capable of scoring points in bunches. Notre Dame appears to have a slight edge along both lines, and Golson gets the nod over Kelly in the quarterback comparison. Injuries and other attrition have impacted ASU and the Irish in a relatively equal manner, so the depth of both squads will be tested to the limit. Since this game will result in the effective elimination of one team from playoff consideration, fans can expect maximum effort. The Sun Devils have an advantage in that they have been home for the past two weeks while Notre Dame has traveled to both ends of the country.

The outcome may well come down to a few key plays involving turnovers or fourth down conversions in enemy territory. If field goals are critical to the final result, Irish fans will hold their breath regarding which version of Brindza will be kicking them.

Here are a few questions that will shed light on the outcome:

Which young defense can avoid giving up costly big plays?

Will D.J. Foster or Tarean Folston be the most productive tailback in this game?

Which quarterback will be the most efficient?

Can Brindza and the Irish special teams round into form and have a positive impact?

Will Notre Dame be able to stand up to the emotional Sun Devil players and crowd in the early going?

Which team will be the first to abandon the running game?

PREDICTION

Notre Dame maintains a slight edge on paper, but the question is whether this team has run out of gas after enduring 60 minutes against Navy and taking two long trips to very different locations in the past week. Fans may expect the Irish to magically summon another Florida State-like performance simply because the stakes are similarly high, but such monumental efforts are not easily repeatable from a team with so many young players in key positions. As has been the case several times this season, it will be Golson that has the final say at the end of a thrill-packed rollercoaster ride.

NOTRE DAME 38 ARIZONA STATE 34