When: Saturday, Oct. 18; 8 p.m. ET
Last meeting: EJ Manuel's two fourth-quarter touchdowns gave Florida State an 18-14 win over Notre Dame in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando.
What to watch for
Notre Dame (6-0) has yet to play in a hostile environment, having had four home games as well as neutral clashes with Purdue (in Indianapolis) and Syracuse (in New Jersey). There have been a few challenges, but nothing compared to what the Fighting Irish are faced with in traveling to the defending national champions.
But it's exactly what coach Brian Kelly believes his team needs in order to get into the first College Football Playoff.
"We want to be challenged nationally against the very, very best," Kelly told Chris Hine of the Chicago Tribune. "We want to be relevant, playing the very best at this time of the season."
For Notre Dame to win in Tallahassee, though, its star is going to need to stop being so careless with the ball. Everett Golson has thrown for 1,683 yards and 16 touchdowns, adding four more rushing TDs, but in his past three games, he's turned the ball over nine times. For the season, the Irish have a plus-three turnover margin but only because they've managed to force 14 takeaways to offset Golson's sloppiness.
Florida State (6-0) has had the same problem with giving the ball away, losing it 12 times this season, but it hasn't been focused on just one person. Quarterback Jameis Winston has thrown five interceptions, but they haven't come at the same critical points as Golson.
Yet the Seminoles' problems have run much deeper than ball security. Despite winning 22 straight games, this year's team isn't nearly as good as the one that dominated for much of 2013. The last two games have shown a turn in that direction, but that's come against Wake Forest and Syracuse, and they've trailed in three games this year.
Assuming Winston plays in this game—and with the mounting off-field issues, that's never a given—this will be his chance to reclaim his spot atop the college football world. He's completing 70 percent of his passes, and his 321 yards per game is above his Heisman-winning rate, but to this point, his on-field performance has flown under the radar.
The big spotlight will be his, and Florida State wins comfortably.
Prediction: Florida State 34, Notre Dame 24
Final: Florida State 31, Notre Dame 27