Knute Rockne would have loved this weekend.

A hundred years ago, the Big Ten wanted no part of a small Catholic university in northern Indiana joining its (even then) powerful conference. The legendary coach and the Notre Dame administration made the decision to play a national schedule to market the school, the program and the Catholic faith.

The Irish Over America Tour never really stopped. For the 27th time, the Irish will play Saturday in Yankee Stadium, this time against Syracuse. This is exactly where Notre Dame wanted this game. It gave up a home date to play this neutral site as part of the Shamrock Series.

This season marks the eighth time ND will play in Los Angeles, Chicago (OK, Evanston) and New York in the same season. That series of high-profile neutral-site games takes its inspiration from Rockne and the Big Ten snub.

However, this is not what the Irish envisioned in terms of competition. No. 12 Syracuse has its highest ranking in 20 years. Quarterback Eric Dungey has that inspirational swag. He's not a great passer but is the ACC's second-best rushing quarterback. Syracuse has five games of 50-plus points. In comparison, Alabama has six.

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book is back after a week of sitting out with sore ribs. I'm no doctor, but I play on one the internet. Jacked-up ribs don't necessarily heal in a week. Hello, flak jacket!

The guess here is that No. 3 Notre Dame's defense muffles the Orange the same way it Florida State. Syracuse will try to tempo the Irish out of Yankee Stadium running 85 plays per game (fourth-most nationally).

Hidden numbers that tilt this game toward the Irish. The two cornerbacks are ball hawks. All-American Julian Love and Troy Pride have combined to break up 23 passes. Together, they've busted up 48 in their careers. Notre Dame is third nationally allowing 5.3 yards per pass. Dungey better be ready to do some running.

How times have changed. Today, Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany would order the confetti himself and carve out a prime time announcement on the Big Ten Network if the Irish joined his league.

They aren't going anywhere but New York to spread the good word about faith, frivolity and, oh yeah, football.

Free Tua: Heisman Trophy frontrunner Tua Tagovailoa will play against The Citadel. To reiterate, No. 1 Alabama's star signal caller should not be playing.

UCFun: This might as well be the Super Bowl for No. 11 UCF, and it's got little to do with football. A down week for big games has landed ESPN's "College GameDay" in Orlando. The Knights are getting some R-E-S-P-E-C-T, which is half the battle for a program that had to proclaim its own national championship. For the puny earthlings (OK, Knights fans), this is "The Day The Earth Stood Still."

UCF, though, might want to pay some notice to the game on the field. No. 24 Cincinnati isn't going to roll over. An upset by the Bearcats could throw the Fiesta Bowl a curve. That's where the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champ will play. UCF can clinch a spot in the AAC Championship Game with a win. It gets stickier if the Bearcats win. Temple could create a three-way tie in the AAC East.

That's forgetting No. 23 Utah State, which broke into the CFP Rankings. The nation's highest-scoring team goes on the road at Colorado State. If both Boise and Utah State win, the winner of next week's game would host the conference championship. Fiesta longshot Fresno State clinches the Mountain West Mountain by beating San Diego State.

SEC "Bye" Week: We'll just leave these point spreads  right here because enough of has been said about the SEC's Saturday slate of the non-con Walking Dead.

  • Kentucky (-14) vs. Middle Tennessee: This is actually the closest nonconference game in the league this week.
  • Texas A&M (-15.5) vs. UAB:  You want coachspeak? Jimbo Fisher actually compared the Blazers to an SEC team.
  • Auburn (-28.5) vs. Liberty: Since Liberty has better facilities than half the teams in the country, we'd expect this to be closer.
  • South Carolina (-30) vs. Chattanooga: The Mocs are receiving votes in the FCS poll before they receive a beating from the Gamecocks.
  • LSU (-44) vs. Rice: Gumbo is traditionally served over rice. Rice should be rolled over early by the Tigers.
  • Florida (-39.5) over Idaho: The Vandals dropped back down to FCS to play games like this?
  • Georgia (-44.5) vs. UMass: Speaking of All-Americans at Sanford Stadium, don't forget UMass receiver Andy Isabella leads the country in catches (87) and yards (1,479).
  • Alabama (-51.5) vs. The Citadel: The point spread might as well equal the number of seconds Tua will spend on the field.

Jeremy Pruitt, coach: Yeah, it's OK to say it loud. With Missouri coming to town, Tennessee (5-5) is a game away from bowl eligibility vs. Missouri. All that in the same season the Vols lost three games by 26 points each. Alabama slipped by the Vols by a mere 37.

But there has been improvement. Outside linebacker Darrell Taylor had four sacks last week. That ties for the most by anyone this season. Jarrett Guarantano has gone 146 throws without an interception. Only one team has fewer picks than Tennessee (two). That would be Georgia Southern with none.

We mention these modest gains because a year ago Tennessee football was a tire fire. It turns out for now Pruitt is who we thought he was -- your typical SEC coach covered in orange. Pruitt will continue to run and play defense.

Colorado opening?: A Denver TV station reported this week that Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre is out after this season. (Athletic director Rick George denied the report, sort of.) If true, Mac would get The Big Haircut less than two years after being named national coach of the year. Utah is visiting with its Pac-12 hopes intact, while CU (5-5) slumped lately after winning its first five games. Take this any way you want, but in responding to questions about his job security, MacIntyre produced a picture of a snow-covered real-life buffalo in a blizzard. "The buffalo is the only animal that walks into the storm," he said. "All the rest of them run." Mac is a good guy but that up-and-down win/lose cycle will annoy fans, administrators more than anything. Which leads us to a possible …

… USC opening? Clay Helton seems to face a key two-game stretch to end the regular season -- at UCLA Saturday and at home against Notre Dame next week. We recommend highly that Helton, whose Trojans are 5-5, beat the Bruins (2-8), get bowl eligible and take his chances against Notre Dame.

The train wreck that is Florida State: FSU (4-6) has games left against Boston College and Florida to get bowl eligible. The odds are not good. One columnist in the state this week called Taggart a "monumentally bad hire," citing statistics that are charitably described as being the foundation of FBS. In other words, the Seminoles are at the bottom: They are 110th or worse nationally in scoring, rushing, third-down conversions, pass defense and penalties. To refresh, there are only 130 FBS teams.

There is evidence to the naked eye the Noles have had issues lining up right since the shocking season-opening loss to a mediocre Virginia Tech. FSU has given up at least 40 points in three consecutive games for the first time in 72 years. There is hope this week with BC missing its starting quarterback in this game for the second straight year. Anthony Brown was knocked out early last week against Clemson.

Four-way Big 12 battle: Texas has evolved into a gun-slinging team featuring former game manager Sam Ehlinger. Iowa State has evolved into the Big 12's best defense. Both of those labels beat the perception of what those teams could be, and are. "I do love having the game on the line and the ball being in our hands," Ehlinger said, "because we just have so much confidence in ourselves." All of it will be on the line in Austin with four teams still in the Big 12 hunt -- Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas and Iowa State.

Injuries -- especially on the defensive side -- have kept the Longhorns (7-3) short of their goals. The Cyclones (6-3) continue to be one of the sports' best Cinderella stories. Iowa State is 5-0 since freshman Brock Purdy took over at quarterback. If the Cyclones win and Oklahoma State beats West Virginia, Iowa State would control its own destiny to get to the Big 12 Championship Game.

Quick kicks: Washington State (vs. Arizona) is a win away from its first 10-win season in 15 years … With a shutout Saturday, Alabama would tie 2015 Michigan for most consecutive shutouts this century (three) … Alabama's next two quarterback commits meet for the second time this season Friday night … I don't want to say this is a thin week for big games, but it's a thin week for big games. There are 35 games that include at least one team with a losing record. There are six games where both teams have a losing record … Utah should have fewer problems with Colorado than its leading rusher has lately with playing. Zack Moss remains out after his knee locked up while climbing into bed … Pittsburgh (at Wake Forest) will clinch a spot in the ACC Championship Game with either one more win or one more loss by Virginia.