Notre Dame opens as slim favorite over No. 16 Syracuse
Notre Dame is a road favorite for the first time this season. The Irish are favored by 2 points in their Oct. 29 game at Syracuse, per Circa Sports’ opening lines released Sunday afternoon.
The game is Notre Dame’s first true road contest at Syracuse in 19 years. The Irish have not played at what is now called the JMA Wireless Dome (formerly the Carrier Dome) since 2003, a 38-13 Orange victory. They have faced Syracuse five times since then, twice in South Bend, twice at MetLife Stadium (East Rutherford, N.J.) and once at Yankee Stadium.
Syracuse’s near-upset of No. 5 Clemson Saturday was its first loss of the season. It fell two spots in Sunday’s updated AP Top 25, from No. 14 to 16, after letting a 21-10 lead slip away in a 27-21 loss to the Tigers. The Orange are 6-1 this season with one win over a current top-25 team (No. 24 North Carolina State).
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Notre Dame (4-3) beat UNLV 44-21 Saturday to get back above .500 – and apparently was convincing enough to the sportsbooks and their algorithms that set lines.
The visit to the JMA Dome will be Notre Dame’s third true road game of the season. The Irish were 17.5-point underdogs against then-No. 2 Ohio State in Week 1. They were 2.5-point underdogs ahead of a Sept. 24 road game at North Carolina. The Irish lost to the Buckeyes 21-10 but beat the Tar Heels 45-32. They’re 2-0 against the spread on the road this year.
This is the sixth time in 2022 Notre Dame is a favorite. At kickoff, the Irish were favored against Marshall (20.5 points, per Caesars Sportsbook), California (13.5), BYU (3.5), Stanford (16.5) and UNLV (26). They’re 1-4 against the spread as favorites, including two outright losses.
Notre Dame received no points in either voter-based poll Sunday after beating UNLV. Three Top 25 opponents are left on the schedule: Syracuse, Clemson (home, Nov. 5), No. 10 USC (road, Nov. 26) and Syracuse. North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 21, while Ohio State stayed at No. 2. BYU – ranked No. 16 when Notre Dame beat it Oct. 8 – lost to Liberty 41-14 Saturday to drop to 4-4 this year.
Notre Dame and Syracuse last played Dec. 5, 2020 in South Bend. The Irish won 45-20 to complete a 10-0 regular season. They lead the all-time series 7-3.
