The Fighting Irish are coming off their first loss of the season and in college football that could mean the season is over, but not for Notre Dame. Last week, Notre Dame walked into Athens with no respect given their past performance against top dogs. Even though they didn’t get the victory, they gained a lot of respect across the country. The Fighting Irish can compete against the elite, even on the road. This game, against UVA, was circled as the trap game at the beginning of the season but look for it to be the bounce-back game. The Fighting Irish are still in contention to make the playoffs if they win out and it will help them a lot if they can get some high-quality wins against ranked teams, like the Cavaliers.
Notre Dame – Virginia Odds
- Saturday, September 28th at 3:30 EST
- Game Spread: Opened ND -11.5 / Current ND -12.5
- Over/Under: Opened 51 / Current 48.5
- Moneyline: Opened ND -475 UVA +380 / Current ND -485 UVA +380
The Virginia Cavaliers
The Cavaliers are coming into South Bend ranked 18th in the nation and looking to continue their undefeated season. This will be their first big test after starting the season against teams like William & Mary, Old Dominion, Pittsburgh, and a weak Florida State team. Their defense has been carrying them and allowing them to walk away with wins at the end of the day. This week we will get to see if their defense can compete against Ian Book and a top 10 team in the nation. In their last five games, the Cavaliers are 5-0 SU and 3-1-1 ATS.
Notre Dame – Virginia Betting Line
Vegas opened this game up at 11.5 point favorites for the Fighting Irish and set the over-under at 51. That would mean Vegas predicted the game to result in a 31-20 win for the Fighting Irish. Currently, the lines are set as the Fighting Irish as 12.5 point favorites and the total moved down to 48.5, so the public is predicting more of 30-18 result. According to the Action App, 55% of the bets and 75% of the money is on the Cavaliers to cover the spread and 65% of the bets and 52% of the money is the under to hit. Other lines to look at are the team totals set at ND 30.5 and UVA 18.5, the first half line set at ND -7 and the over-under at 24.5.
Prediction: The Fighting Irish (-12.5)
Everything in this game wants you to take the Cavaliers and the points and hammer the under. Majority of the money and the bets are on those to hit. But this is the game that makes or breaks the season for the Fighting Irish. They have their home field to help get them back on their feet and back to their winning ways. I’m expecting the Fighting Irish to come out firing and take control of the game early. If they can get out to a fast start, it will be tough for the Cavaliers to catch up. My prediction of the outcome is the Fighting Irish win this 42-20. With that prediction the over will hit, Notre Dame’s team total will hit the over, and with my thoughts of ND coming out fast, then they will cover the 7-point first-half spread as well. But if you had to make one bet for the game, it would be the Fighting Irish covering the 12.5 point spread. Don’t touch this spread if it goes up to 14.5.
The weather may help keep the score down somewhat.
BGC ’77 ’82
I can’t see ND scoring 42 points on Virginia. Virginia’s defense is significantly better than Louisville’s who held ND to 35. I think ND will win but not cover the spread. I’m thinking in the 28-20 area ND wins.