Notre Dame at Michigan Line

Written by Jack Jones

The Michigan versus Notre Dame rivalry continues this weekend as the Fighting Irish visit the Big House. Notre Dame is coming off a stunning 23-20 loss to South Florida as a double-digit favorite, while Michigan won a weather-shortened showdown with Western Michigan by a final of 34-10. The Wolverines have had the edge in this series recently, winning four of the last five meetings.

Taking a look at the college football odds, I find Notre Dame as 3.5-point road favorites over Michigan and a total set of 55.5 points.

Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish came into the season as the 16th-ranked team in the country, and with national championship expectations. Those hopes and dreams are all but out the window now after falling to Notre Dame alum Skip Holtz and the South Florida Bulls last Saturday. It was a sloppy game that saw fans leave the stadium at halftime due to severe weather. The Bulls led 16-0 at halftime, so the two hour delay must have seemed like a lifetime for Notre Dame players. They game was delayed for another 43 minutes with just 4:21 to play.

Notre Dame really gave the game away by committing five turnovers. They outgained the Bulls 508-254, doubling South Florida’s yardage output. Tommy Rees replaced the sloppy Dayne Crist at halftime, and went on to have a pretty solid game. Rees finished 24-of-34 for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he also threw a pair of costly interceptions. Malcolm Floyd had 12 catches for 154 yards and two touchdowns, becoming Notre Dame’s all-time receptions leader. Cierre Wood had a big day on the ground, rushing for 104 yards and a score on 21 carries.

Michigan

The Wolverines also had to sit through a couple of weather delays Saturday before their game with Western Michigan was called late in the third quarter. It was all but over at that point with Michigan leading 34-10. Both schools agreed to call the game with 1:27 left in the third period, and the 110,056 fans at Michigan Stadium evacuated. The Wolverines only outgained the Broncos 288-279 for the contest, but took advantage of three WMU turnovers while not giving the ball away once.

Michigan got to 94-yard interception return for a touchdown from Brandon Herron midway through the second quarter that made it 14-7, and the Wolverines never looked back. Denard Robinson was held in check, going 9-of-13 passing for 98 yards while also rushing eight times for 46 yards. Fitzgerald Toussaint led the way on the ground with 11 rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns, including a 43-yard scamper. Michael Shaw chipped in 54 yards on four carries and a 44-yard touchdown run.

Last year’s game was won by Michigan by a final of 28-24 in South Bend. The Wolverines got 244 passing yards, 258 rushing yards and three total touchdowns from Robinson in the victory. Crist threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns for Notre Dame, but it appears Rees has won the job for this meeting.

Betting Trends

The Wolverines are 8-2 ATS in their last 10 September games and 7-1 ATS in their last eight non-conference games. They have gotten off to quick starts the last few years, but Michigan is just 11-27 ATS in their last 38 games overall.

Notre Dame has not been a fast starter when it comes to beating the spread. The Irish are 1-7 ATS in their last eight September games. Notre Dame is also just 1-6-1 ATS in their last eight games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0 points. The Irish have been road warriors, though, going 6-1 against the number in their last seven road games.

The underdog is 6-1 ATS in the last seven meetings in this series, and Notre Dame is just 1-4 ATS in the last five meetings.

If you want to beat the books in Week 2, then sign up for a premium package from Jack Jones today and start winning more of your wagers.

Comments

Got something to say?