No conference? No problem for Notre Dame, which is one minor hurdle away from a College Football Playoff that's supposed to be a reward for power-conference champs.
No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 12 Syracuse was supposed to be the best game of Week 12. Heck, as far as the top eight spots in the College Football Playoff rankings are concerned, it should've been the only game worth monitoring into the fourth quarter.
But in a game that most stopped watching by halftime, the Fighting Irish blew out the Orange 36-3 at Yankee Stadium.
With Notre Dame QB Ian Book back under center after missing last week's game against Florida State—and with Syracuse QB Eric Dungey leaving the game midway through the first quarter with an upper-body injury—this one got ugly in a hurry.