Notre Dame @ Arizona State preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2013 ) Arizona State 34, Notre Dame 37

If No. 8 Notre Dame has any hope of covering the ground necessary to jump up into the Top 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, it can’t afford another loss. The same can be said for No. 12 Arizona State, which hosts the Fighting Irish on Saturday. The Sun Devils climbed one slot ahead of the Fighting Irish in the most recent playoff rankings, sitting in the No. 9 spot as the second-best Pac-12 squad.

Notre Dame bounced back from a loss at Florida State by beating Navy last week but is struggling to close some holes on the defense that have cropped up of late. “I think we've got to continue to improve in tighter coverage and get home when we've got the opportunities,” Fighting Irish coach Brian Kelly told reporters. “I think if we do that, we'll be fine on Saturday.” Arizona has climbed up the rankings on the strength of its defense while holding opponents to an average of 17.5 points in four straight victories, including 12 in the last three contests.

TV: 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC. LINE: Arizona State -2.5

ABOUT NOTRE DAME (7-1): The Fighting Irish are on the final leg of a three-game road stretch and overcame the poor defensive effort against Navy last week with some impressive offensive efficiency. Quarterback Everett Golson threw three touchdown passes and ran for three more scores as Notre Dame piled up 533 total yards. “(Golson) definitely has felt like this is his offense, and it falls on his shoulders to make sure that we don't lose another football game,” Kelly told reporters. “…Yeah, I think you're just seeing a guy that's just maturing and getting better each and every week.”

ABOUT ARIZONA STATE (7-1): The Sun Devils suffered their lone loss 62-27 at home against UCLA on Sept. 25, but have since become one of the better defensive teams in the Pac-12. “We do a lot schematically, just eliminating the errors that come with inexperience and really getting it to where we can execute our system,” Arizona State coach Todd Graham told reporters of both sides of the ball, “and I think the other half is the coaches learning the best approaches for the players and getting the right pieces in place.” One of those right pieces is wide receiver Jaelen Strong, who has six TDs in the last four games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Notre Dame starting LB Joe Schmidt (ankle) is out for the rest of the season.

2. The Sun Devils are 6-3 against ranked teams in the last two seasons, including 3-1 in the last four games.

3. The Fighting Irish lead the series 3-0, including a 37-34 victory in Arlington, Texas last season.

PREDICTION: Arizona State 28, Notre Dame 27