By james art 
Notre Dame enjoyed an off weekend while more college football mayhem played out nationally, with Texas A&M and Iowa State coming off upsets.
As the Fighting Irish continue their potential march to the College Football Playoff, a traditional football powerhouse is coming to South Bend this Saturday.
Except the traditional power plant is anything but in 2024.
Florida State finished last regular season undefeated at 12-0 before beating Louisville in the ACC Championship despite having to play with its backup quarterback. However, the Seminoles were left out of the College Football Playoff and were seeded in the Orange Bowl.
From that moment on, nothing went right for the traditional football powerhouse.
Florida State was swept by Georgia in the Orange Bowl, losing 63-3.
It then opened the 2024 season as a preseason top-10 team, only to lose its first game in Dublin, Ireland to Georgia Tech. He then returned to the States to be beaten by Boston College in his opening match.
Florida State will enter Saturday’s game as easily the most disappointing team in the nation, sitting at just 1-7 with the lone win coming against Cal.
Notre Dame was written off after falling at home to Northern Illinois in early September, but since then has performed as well as anyone could have hoped.
Injuries have piled up for Notre Dame, but the results on the field are non-negotiable. Since losing to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7, Notre Dame is 6-0 and has outscored opponents 256-68 overall. The Irish also played in five of those six games after the Purdue loss.
From what you know about the two teams, you probably guessed that Notre Dame would be a heavy favorite for Saturday’s primetime game at Notre Dame Stadium.
How big of a favorite will the Fighting Irish be, though?
According to FanDuel from the evening of November 3, 2024:
Point spread: Notre Dame -24.5
Total: 43.5
Money Lines: Notre Dame -4,500, Florida State +1,600
Notre Dame and Florida State are set to kick off at 7:30 PM ET on Saturday in a game that can be seen on NBC.