In August, this was just another game. Syracuse was just another team. Notre Dame was just another fringe contender.

Nobody expected this meeting to highlight Week 12 of the season — let alone be the biggest college football game New York City has seen in more than seven decades.

But in a season that has produced few surprises, these are two of the biggest ones, undefeated Notre Dame and explosive Syracuse in this matchup of top-12 teams set for a Saturday afternoon showdown at Yankee Stadium.

All eyes of the college football world will be focused on The Bronx for the latest installment of The Shamrock Series — Fighting Irish home games played at neutral-site venues to expand their brand — to see if No. 3 Notre Dame can climb by far its biggest remaining hurdle against 12th-ranked Syracuse.

“It’s going to be electric,” Notre Dame center Sam Mustipher said in a phone interview. “It’s one of the most legendary stadiums in the world.”

Rebuilt by coach Dino Babers in his third season, the underdog Orange (8-2) are two wins shy of their first 10-victory season since 2001, two wins that would almost certainly send them to a New Year’s Six bowl. The stakes are much higher for the Irish (10-0), who with wins over Syracuse and underwhelming USC will make their first trip to the College Football Playoff.

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey told reporters this week.

Notre Dame has been playing with pressure for weeks, knowing one loss could derail its playoff hopes. The team’s mantra has been “pressure is a privilege.”

“It’s why you come here,” Irish coach Brian Kelly said.

Kelly set three goals for his team at the season’s outset: Beat Michigan (done), go undefeated at home (done) and win in November. Notre Dame reached the final month of the regular season in the playoff race last year before falling apart in blowout losses to Miami and Stanford, and having to settle for the Citrus Bowl.

But this group has shown no signs of slowing down. Even without injured starting quarterback Ian Book (ribs), Notre Dame roughed up Florida State last Saturday, and Book is ready to return. An unheralded three-star recruit, Book replaced Brandon Wimbush in Week 3 and gave Notre Dame’s previously run-heavy offense the balance it desperately needed. He is leading the nation in completion percentage (74.5) and is fourth in passing efficiency (170.0).

“Nothing rattles him,” Mustipher said. “He’s always poised and calm.”

Book has taken pressure off Kelly’s best defense since the Manti Te’o-led team that reached the BCS championship game in 2012. The talented group features defensive lineman and Bednarik Award watch list honoree Jerry Tillery (team-high seven sacks) and leading tackler Te’von Coney, a potential first-round pick at linebacker. Ranked 24th in the country in total defense, Notre Dame began the year by limiting Michigan (currently ranked fourth) to 307 yards of offense — and the Irish haven’t let up.

Notre Dame hasn’t seen an offense quite like Syracuse’s fourth-ranked scoring unit, however. The up-tempo Orange, bowl eligible for the first time since 2013, are two rushing touchdowns shy of the program record of 34. Dungey, a dual-threat who is one of only three active signal-callers with at least 8,000 passing yards (8,665) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,929) in his career, has run for 12 scores. The Orange have scored 50 points five times, a program-best, and are averaging 44.4 points per game.

“Obviously, it’s Notre Dame. You always dream about playing against them,” Dungey said. “I know I have.”

The last time there was a matchup in the five boroughs featuring two teams ranked this high came on Oct. 11, 1947, when fifth-ranked Army and No. 6 Illinois played to a scoreless tie at the original Yankee Stadium. The last game in the area with such significance was the “Pandemonium in Piscataway” classic that saw 15th-ranked and then-undefeated Rutgers topple No. 3 Louisville on Nov. 9, 2006.

Neither of those teams played for a national championship. Notre Dame could, but only if it survives Syracuse on Saturday.

Syracuse, on the road, nearly stunned No. 2 Clemson on Sept. 29, losing by four points after leading most of the game. It has another chance Saturday to pull off a big upset. Here are three keys to the 12th-ranked Orange stunning No. 3 Notre Dame at Yankee Stadium:

Get to the quarterback:

Fighting Irish signal-caller Ian Book, who rarely has been under duress this year, has been sacked just eight times. He’s also dealing with a rib injury that forced him to miss last Saturday’s win over Florida State. Notre Dame says it has healed. Syracuse needs to test his durability and mobility by hitting him early. Sophomore defensive end Alton Robinson (nine sacks) must have a big day.

Play from ahead: Notre Dame has trailed at halftime just once this year, and that was by a single point. The Irish have faced one fourth-quarter deficit, by one possession. If Syracuse can play with a lead, it will increase the pressure on the Irish, who have to win out to reach the College Football Playoff, and quiet the partisan crowd.

Dungey has to deliver: Senior quarterback Eric Dungey struggled in the loss to Clemson, producing his lowest rushing total (11 yards) of the year. Now is his chance to atone. He’s a dynamic two-way threat and already has a career-best 690 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground this season. Syracuse needs him at his best, or at least close to the player who threw for 411 yards and produced four scores against North Carolina State a few weeks ago.