The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will travel to upstate New York to take on the Syracuse Orange at the JMA Wireless Dome for a Saturday afternoon college football matchup. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our college football odds series, which includes a Notre Dame-Syracuse prediction and pick, laid out below.

Notre Dame has a new coach in Marcus Freeman, and have gone through a rocky transition. The Fighting Irish have gone 4-3, with notable losses to Marshall and Stanford. Last time out, Notre Dame thumped UNLV 44-21, so there is momentum going into this one.

Syracuse has been one of the biggest surprises this season, going 6-1 in their first seven games. Entering the season, head coach Dino Babers appeared to be on the hot seat, but now his job seems to be pretty secure. Syracuse was undefeated before losing 27-21 against Clemson last weekend.

Here are the Notre Dame-Syracuse college football odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Notre Dame-Syracuse Odds

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: +2.5 (-110)

Syracuse Orange: -2.5 (-110)

Over: 47.5 (-114)

Under: 47.5 (-106)

Why Notre Dame Could Cover The Spread

Drew Pyne was inserted at starting quarterback after Tyler Buchner was injured against Marshall. Pyne has completed 63.7 percent of his passes for 1,077 yards with twelve touchdowns and three interceptions. Audric Estime is the team's leading rusher at 435 yards and six touchdowns. Notre Dame has totaled 1,247 rushing yards and eleven touchdowns as a team. Tight end Michael Mayer is arguably the best in the nation and leads the team with 44 catches for 526 yards and six touchdowns. Lorenzo Styles is second with 287 yards and a touchdown. Notre Dame has scored 26.6 points per game while averaging 386 yards of offense.

Notre Dame's defense has struggled at times, allowing 21.9 points and 341.4 yards of offense per game. Marist Liufau leads the team with 29 tackles, three of which have gone for a loss. Isaiah Foskey leads the team with an impressive six sacks, while the Fighting Irish have totaled 20 on the season. TaRiq Bracy has intercepted the team's only pass this season. Notre Dame has forced five fumbles.

Why Syracuse Could Cover The Spread

Garrett Shrader took the starting job from Tommy DeVito last season and has not looked back. Shrader has completed 69.7 percent of his passes for 1,601 yards with 13 touchdowns and four interceptions. Shrader was more of a run-first option last season, but has taken a huge step forward with his arm. Shrader has also rushed for 371 yards and six touchdowns. Sean Tucker has been the star of the Syracuse offense, totaling 698 rushing yards with six touchdowns. Last season, Tucker set a school record for rushing yards in a season. Oronde Gadsden II leads the team with 37 catches for 593 yards and five touchdowns. Tucker ranks second with two receiving touchdowns. Syracuse is averaging 33.9 points and 412.6 yards of offense per game.

Syracuse's defense has been solid, holding opponents to 15.1 points and 294.7 yards of offense per game. Star linebacker Mikel Jones leads the team with 54 tackles, adding three sacks and a forced fumble. Caleb Okechukwu and Steve Linton lead the team with three and a half sacks each, while the Orange have totaled eighteen as a team. Garrett Williams leads the team with two interceptions, while Syracuse has totaled seven. Syracuse has scored three defensive touchdowns.

Final Notre Dame-Syracuse Prediction & Pick

Not sure that Notre Dame will have an answer for Shrader or Tucker. Maybe one, but not both.

Final Notre Dame-Syracuse Prediction & Pick: Syracuse -2.5 (-110), over 47.5 (-114)