What Though the Odds: Notre Dame – Michigan Spread, Betting Odds and Guide

The Fighting Irish are coming off a bye after hanging on to beat one of their rivals, the USC Trojans 30-27, the week before.  The bye week should allow Notre Dame to get healthy and gives them extra time to game plan against another one of their rivals, the Michigan Wolverines.  Going into this week, the Wolverines are the last ranked opponent on the Fighting Irish remaining schedule. This game will be critical for the Notre Dame to prove that they deserve a playoff spot at the end of the college football season.  They will be going into the “The Big House” in Ann Arbor, and it won’t be an easy task going against Michigan’s defense. We should expect to see a defensive battle on both ends, but Ian Book and the Fighting Irish are the better offense and will prove that on Saturday night.

Notre Dame is 5-1 SU, 4-2 ATS, and 4 of their 6 games have hit the under. 

Notre Dame – Michigan Betting Odds & Point Spread

• Game Spread: Opened Michigan -4/ Current ND -1
• Game Total: Opened 48 / Current 51.5
• First Half Spread: Pickem
• First Half Total: 26.5
• Team Totals: Michigan 25 / ND 25

Michigan Wolverines:

The Wolverines have had a rollercoaster of a season after a scare in week two against Army and holding off to beat them in overtime.  The next week they weren’t as lucky and got beat in Madison WI 35-14 by the Badgers. After a shaky first few weeks, they bounced back and crushed Rutgers 52-0, then beat a nationally ranked Iowa team 10-3 and then handled Illinois 42-25.  After that, they were faced with an uphill battle, going against Penn State the week before facing off against the Fighting Irish. Michigan came out flat at the beginning of the Penn State game and then put up a fight in the second half, but that wasn’t enough to get a victory.  The Wolverines are coming off a 28-21 loss to the Nittany Lions and are now facing the Fighting Irish as underdogs at home. This week we will see if their second loss of the season was a season crusher or if they can bounce back and play with some life. We know their defense will be no easy task for Ian Book and the Fighting Irish offense, but it all depends on what Shea Patterson and his star receivers can do against a top Fighting Irish defense.

Michigan is 5-2 SU, 3-4 ATS, and 5 of their 7 games have hit the over.

The Lines:

Vegas started this week with the Wolverines as 4-point favorites and the over-under set at 48.  With these lines, Vegas predicted Michigan to be victorious 25-23. These lines have since changed significantly, shifting it to a higher scoring game and in the Fighting Irish favor.   Currently, the lines are Notre Dame as 1-point road favorites and the over-under set at 51.5. The current lines are saying that the Fighting Irish will walk out of Ann Arbor with a 26-25 win.  Also, 74% of the public and 77% of the money are on Notre Dame; therefore, the lines changed to the Fighting Irish being favorites. As for the over-under, 62% of the public is on the under, and 74% of the money is on the over, causing the total to shift from 48 to 51.5.  

Bet of the Week: (Notre Dame -1)

Notre Dame is the better team on both sides of the ball; the only problem is that they will be playing in a hostile environment in Ann Arbor.  The real question here is how Michigan will bounce back after last week’s tough loss. The Wolverines won’t let Notre Dame walk all over them, but their struggling offense won’t be enough to beat Brian Kelly and his Fighting Irish coming off a bye.  I would take the Fighting Irish unless the line moves to -3 or higher. It is a rivalry game on the road, so it will be a tougher game than expected, but I see the Fighting Irish winning this game 24-21. With that being said, the under will hit, too, but I am more confident with the Fighting Irish walking away victorious!