Notre Dame will look to continue its dominant defensive play today when it takes on the struggling Syracuse Orange. The Irish have been dominant during the current win streak, and it has been even better as we get deeper into the season. The Irish have allowed just 12.2 points per game in its last seven wins, and it faces a Syracuse offense that hasn't reached 20 since Steve Angeli was lost to a season-ending Achilles injury. 

Let's look at the keys to success for the Irish as they look to earn a dominant victory over Syracuse.

1. Be Focused - The issue against opponents like this can be a lack of focus. The Notre Dame players are smart, and they've watched the film and know this is a hurting and struggling offense. It can be easy to think this will be an easier test, which means you don't come into the game as focused on the task at hand. The biggest key for the Irish defense will be staying focused on the standard, being locked in on doing their jobs, playing fast and being dominant. 

Focus means doing your job snap after snap, playing with the passion you would if it was a big game, and also being disciplined. A concern in a game like this is players try to "make a big play" instead of doing their job and letting the game come to them. Making plays is great, but it must be done within the framework of the defense. If they do that and play fast the big plays will come, if they go outside the system it could result in some of the big plays that Syracuse needs to get some points.

2. Put Syracuse Away Early - Syracuse isn't playing with much confidence right now, so the Irish defense has to continue that and put this game away early. Pitt is starting a freshman walk-on quarterback, so they will look to protect him a bit early, but eventually he'll need to make some plays. If the Irish play off, go back to the passive looks from early in the season and don't play with focus it could give Syracuse a chance to make some big plays early, which builds confidence. I've seen worst quarterbacks than Joseph Filardi go into a game, get hot early and play beyond their ability.

For Notre Dame, dominating early will eliminate any thought Syracuse has that they can win the game. It will sap them of their confidence and allow the defense to really put this game away early. Notre Dame needs a dominant win today, it needs a game that is basically over by halftime as they look to continue impressing the playoff committee. The defense must play a big role in that.

3. Shut Down The Run Game - Syracuse has been one of the most prolific passing offenses since Fran Brown arrived, but they are likely to go a different route in this game. I fully expect Syracuse to try and establish the run game as they look to take some pressure off Filardi. What I don't know is if they'll do it by spreading Notre Dame out and try to create some creases in the box, or if they'll put an extra tight end on the field and try to out-number and out-leverage the defense. Either way, the Irish need to be able to shut down the Syracuse run game and force Filardi to make plays through the air. If this game comes down to Filardi beating Notre Dame through the air the odds of Syracuse having much success goes way down.

The good news for Notre Dame is that Syracuse isn't very good at running the ball and the Irish defense has been elite. Notre Dame has the 13th ranked run defense in college football, and the defense has allowed just 87.4 rushing yards per game this season against non-option teams. Even the 206 yards allowed against Navy was impressive, as the Irish held Navy to over 100 yards below their season average. 

Syracuse has the 113th ranked rushing offense in the country, but it is coming off arguably its best performance of the season. The Orange rushed for 161 yards in its 38-10 loss to Miami. While it only averaged 3.7 yards per carry, they were able to churn out positive yards and shorten the game. If the Notre Dame defense can dominate the Syracuse run game like it did Pitt, Boston College, USC and NC State the Irish should be able to get off the field early and often.

4. Heat Up The Quarterback - Notre Dame defensive coordinator Chris Ash did a very good job throwing a lot of looks at Pitt's freshman quarterback last season, and the constant pressure forced him into a pair of interceptions. Mason Heintschel had his worst performance of his otherwise outstanding freshman season. Hopefully Ash has a similar game plan ready for Filardi. At the heart of that is being aggressive and getting pressure. Ash can't allow the young quarterback to feel comfortable in the pocket, which means taking away quick game throws, getting pressure off the quarterback and throwing different looks at him.

If the Notre Dame pass rush and blitz package can have success, and the coverage is tight, the Irish defense should remain dominant.

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