Former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams was no match for the Irish defense, as he was held to 199 yards passing. During the 4th quarter, he appeared to have waived the white flag after being sacked six times on top of throwing three interceptions. Meanwhile, Sam Hartman’s uniform remained clean for the entirety of the game, as the Notre Dame offensive line didn’t surrender a sack. The big men up front also opened holes for the Irish running back platoon, who finished with 125 yards rushing on 29 carries (4.3 YPC). Notre Dame’s kick return team also played accessory to the crime as running back Jadarian Price returned a kick 99 yards for a touchdown.
Key Injuries
Notre Dame
TE Kevin Bauman and DE Aiden Gobaira are out for the season (ACL). WR KK Smith is out indefinitely (shoulder). WR Matt Salerno is out indefinitely (leg). WR Deion Colzie is week to week (knee).
Pittsburgh
There are no injuries to report.
Notre Dame Betting Trends
- Pitt is 1-5 ATS in its last six games.
- The total has gone over in nine of Pitt’s last 11 games.
- Notre Dame is 0-4-1 ATS in its last five home games against Pitt.
- Notre Dame is 6-2-1 ATS in its last nine games.
Betting Line and Total (Over / Under)
Pittsburgh (2-5) (1-4 ATS) at #21 Notre Dame -20 (6-2) (5-2 ATS)
Notre Dame will be playing in its first daytime game since week three. In the Irish’s last game played against USC, the Trojans were held to just 302 yards of total offense. USC was held to 199 yards passing (5.4 YPC) and 103 yards rushing (2.8 YPC). Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts had the game of his career, finishing with seven tackles, two interceptions, and a fumble recovery that was returned for a touchdown. Irish running back Audric Estime also got back on track as he carried the ball 22 times for 95 yards and two scores.
Pittsburgh suffered its fifth loss of the season at Wake Forest, 21-17. Demon Deacons’ third-string quarterback, Santino Marucci, completed a 15-yard touchdown with less than 10 seconds remaining to win the game. It will be a tough loss for the Panthers to overcome as Pitt outgained WF on offense 414 to 323. Panthers’ quarterback, Christian Veilleux, passed for 302 yards and two touchdowns.
Notre Dame opened at -18.5 before reaching -20. The total dropped two points from 47 to 45. While Pittsburgh will be looking to bounce back from its heartbreaking loss to Wake Forest, the Irish should be reenergized off its bye week. Pittsburgh’s worst losses this year were by 17 points to North Carolina and Louisville, but that was with quarterback Phil Jurkovec under center. The name above the opposing locker shouldn’t matter in this one. Pick: Notre Dame
Behind Enemy Lines Week 9:
PICKS-Win/Loss on the year: 25-28-1 ATS
Navy (3-4) (2-4 ATS) – Bye week
The Navy fleet was shot down by Air Force last week, 17-6. Both offenses combined for 412 total yards. Next game: at Temple
Lindenwood (3-4) (0-0 ATS) at Tennessee State N/A (5-2) (0-0 ATS)
Tennessee State shut out Lincoln (CA) Oaklanders, 54-0, to pick up its fifth win of the season.
Clemson -10 (4-3) (2-5) at NC State (4-3) (2-4 ATS)
Clemson suffered yet another gut-wrenching loss last week. This time, the Tigers fell to Miami in double overtime, 28-20. Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik passed for 314 yards and two touchdowns. Before their bye week, NC State was speared by the Duke Blue Devils, 24-3. NC State quarterback MJ Morris completed 24 of 40 passes for 193 yards and one interception. Clemson is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games. The total has gone under in four of NC State’s last five games. Depending on the book, the line is hovering around 10, with the total coming in at 44. Pick: Clemson
Central Michigan (4-4) (3-5 ATS) – Bye week
Central Michigan was run over by Ball State, 24-17. Cardinals running back Marquez Cooper carried the ball 26 times for 162 yards and one touchdown. Next game: Northern Illinois
#3 Ohio State -14.5 (7-0) (3-2-1 ATS) at Wisconsin (5-2) (3-4 ATS)
Ohio State remained undefeated while handing Penn State its first loss of the season, 20-12. The Buckeyes’ defense limited the Nittany Lions to 240 yards of total offense. Wisconsin needed a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Illinois, 25-21. Badgers running back Braelon Allen rushed for 145 yards and a score. OSU is 4-0-1 ATS in its last five games. The total has gone under in eight of Wisconsin’s last 12 games. The line opened at 10 before skyrocketing to 14.5. The total is nearing 44. Pick: Ohio State
#20 Duke (5-2) (4-3 ATS) at #18 Louisville -4 (6-1) (3-3-1 ATS)
Duke surrendered a three-point halftime lead to Florida State last week while falling to the Seminoles, 38-20. Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis passed for 268 yards and two touchdowns. After winning its biggest game of the season against Notre Dame, Louisville returned to Earth last week in Pittsburgh as the Cardinals picked up their first loss of the year, 38-21. Louisville quarterback Jack Plummer threw for 350 yards and one touchdown. Duke is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games. The total has gone under in eight of Louisville’s last 12 games. Louisville opened at -3 before moving to -4. The total slid two points from 48 to 46. Pick: Louisville
USC -11 (6-2) (2-6 ATS) at California (3-4) (2-5 ATS)
Utah kicker Cole Becker connected on a 38-yard field goal as time expired, which granted USC its second loss in consecutive weeks. USC quarterback Caleb Williams threw for 256 yards and no touchdowns. California’s last game was two weeks ago, which coincidentally resulted in a loss at Utah, 34-14. The Golden Bears finished the game with only 254 yards of total offense. The Cal defense allowed Utah to rush for 317 yards on 53 carries. In their last five games, USC and Cal are both 0-5 ATS. The total has gone under in 14 of Cal’s last 18 games against USC. The Trojans opened at -8.5 before the line shot up to -11. The total also climbed six points to 67. Pick: USC
Wake Forest (4-3) (3-4 ATS) at #4 Florida State -20.5 (7-0) (5-2 ATS)
Wake Forest’s third-string quarterback, Santino Marucci, completed a touchdown pass with seven ticks left on the clock to defeat Pittsburgh, 21-17. Pittsburgh running back C’Bo Flemister rushed for 105 yards on 23 carries. Florida State shut out Duke in the second half to keep its undefeated season alive by winning 38-20. Seminoles’ quarterback carried the ball 10 times for 62 yards and a score. Florida State is 5-2 ATS in its last seven games. The total has gone under in WF’s previous five games. The line on this game is at 20.5, inching its way to 21. The total is firm at 53. Pick: Florida State
#5 Washington -27 (7-0) (3-3-1 ATS) at Stanford (2-5) (3-4 ATS)
Washington outscored Arizona State, 12-0, in the second half last week to defeat the Sun Devils, 15-7. Huskies’ quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., completed 27 of 42 passes for 275 yards and two interceptions. All of Stanford’s trees were chopped down by UCLA, 42-7. The Bruins racked up 503 yards of total offense. Washington is 2-4 ATS in its last six games against Stanford. The total has gone under in five of Stanford’s last six games. The line and total are holding steady at -27 and 59.5, respectively. Pick: Washington
*Notre Dame’s 2023 opponents are listed in bold.
It feels like the Irish will need more help than usual from the offense today to cover this spread. Hopefully the WR are ready for the challenge.
My brother visited me last week up from Tampa,Florida.He was spewing this love fest of Sanders. Personally I can’t stand Sanders. I hope he loses every game he plays. He is a pompous asshole as as I am concerned.
Sanders is big hat, no cattle.
If he stays much longer at Colorado, he’ll compile a non-stellar W-L record, movie stars will stop coming, the media will revisit their script, and his rocket ship will simply fizzle out.
I have no doubt his agent is already looking for a bigger gig with a more obscene paycheque. Sanders will fail up.
And the newly named 2023 Michigan Shame Tour continues !
Tickets are still available.
But not the good ones down low…..someone bought those up long ago.
Sanders’ 4-3 Buffs are in LA to face the Bruins and ABC (ie. ESPN) is televising it.
For those viewers not planning to turn off the volume, I suggest you think hard before choosing a drinking game trigger word or phrase, it could be fatal.
For those who have to drive afterwards, stick to any Sanders critique.