While the best ability for a player is arguably availability, the best attribute for a team might be versatility. Notre Dame showcased that skill in all three facets of the game against Pittsburgh. On defense, Notre Dame created five turnovers, including one fumble and four interceptions, and that was without starters Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart (second half). The Irish also held the Panthers to just seven points and 255 yards of total offense. On offense, Notre Dame racked up 535 total yards, with 380 yards coming through the air and the other 155 yards on the ground. On special teams, Notre Dame returned a punt 82 yards for a score and recovered a muffed punt in the endzone for a touchdown. Although it wasn’t perfection, it was close to it. It was also the type of performance the Irish will need to take with them on the road to Clemson this weekend.
Key Injuries
Notre Dame
TE Mitchell Evans, 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).
Clemson
RB Will Shipley (concussion) and WR Tyler Brown (undisclosed) are questionable. RB Jay Haynes (Ankle) S R.J. Mickens (Appendix) are out indefinitely. WR Antonio Williams (toe), OL Walker Parks (lower body), DL Vic Burley (knee), and WR Cole Turner (hip) are out for the season.
Betting Trends
- Clemson is 1-4 ATS in its last five games.
- The total has gone under in four of Clemson’s last five games.
- Notre Dame is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games against an ACC opponent.
- Notre Dame is 7-2-1 ATS in its last ten games.
Line and Total
#12 Notre Dame -3 (7-2) (6-2 ATS) at Clemson (4-4) (2-6)
Notre Dame will be playing in its second noon kickoff of the season since they traveled to NC State back in early September. The Irish should enter Death Valley with confidence bursting at the seam after last week’s 58-7 dismantling of Pittsburgh. The Irish offense finally showed up, which allowed the defense to maintain even more energy. Twelve different players caught passes for Notre Dame. Five different players carried the ball. Running back Audric Estime led the way with 19 carries for 114 yards (6.0 YPC) and three touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s defense didn’t surrender a score until late in the 4th quarter. The Irish secondary had an eventful afternoon, hauling in four interceptions. Xavier Watts caught two of them, and Jaden Mickey returned one 43 yards for a touchdown.
The same could not be said for Clemson as they lost their territorial dispute to NC State, 24-17. Tigers’ quarterback, Cade Klubnik, completed 33 of 50 passes for 263 yards and two interceptions. However, the Clemson defense was not the problem, as they limited the Wolfpack to only 202 yards of total offense. The loss to NC State marked Clemson’s fourth loss of the season, which means the Tigers will be chomping at the bit to earn a win against 12th-ranked Notre Dame.
Before the season began, Clemson was as high as 4.5-point favorites. Now, Notre Dame is coming in favored by 3 points. The total also moved four points from 49 to 45. This game will close out the 2023 heavyweight round-robin for Notre Dame. The Irish lost on the final play of the game with 10 men on the field versus Ohio State, and then open-hand slapped USC in their second leg of the robin. Expect the Irish to be hungry for this one. It seems as if what could go wrong has gone wrong for Clemson this season, and the Tigers have not yet found a solution to their problems. Notre Dame, on the other hand, seems to be improving on all fronts. Pick: Notre Dame
Behind Enemy Lines Week 10:
PICKS-Win/Loss on the year: 28-32-1 ATS
Navy -6.5 (3-4) (2-4 ATS) – Bye week
The Navy fleet was shot down by Air Force two weeks ago, 17-6. Both offenses combined for 412 total yards. Temple did not have much luck in its last game either, as the Owls had their feathers ripped out by SMU, 55-0. Temple managed just 131 total yards of offense. Navy is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games against Temple. The total has gone over in four of Temple’s last five games against Navy. The line fell a point to 6.5. The total dropped a couple of points to 42.5. Pick: Navy
Tennessee State N/A (6-2) (0-0 ATS) at Charleston Southern (3-5) (0-0 ATS)
Tennessee State earned its sixth win of the season after defeating the Lindenwood Lions, 43-20. Tennessee State receiver Da’ Shon Davis caught five balls for 200 yards and one score.
Miami -4 (6-2) (4-4) at NC State (5-3) (3-4 ATS)
Miami survived its overtime heart attack against Virginia, 29-26. Cavaliers’ receiver, Perris Jones, hauled in 12 catches for 152 yards. Clemson outgained NC State in total yards 364 to 202, but it wasn’t enough, as the Wolfpack won 24-17. NC State was held to 64 yards rushing on 26 carries. Miami is 5-14 ATS in its last 19 games. The total has gone over in four of NC State’s last five games against Miami. The line has Miami sitting firmly at -4 with a total of 45.5 across the board. Pick: NC State
Northern Illinois -5.5 (4-5) (4-4 ATS) at Central Michigan (5-4) (4-5 ATS)
It was a snowy Halloween night, but that didn’t stop Central Michigan from scaring a win out of Northern Illinois, 37-31. The Huskies defense looked frightened as the Chippewas ground game racked up 331 yards on 47 carries (7.0 YPC). CMU running back Marion Lukes and quarterback Jase Bauer each had over 100 yards rushing. Next game: @Western Michigan
#3 Ohio State -18.5 (8-0) (3-3-1 ATS) at Rutgers (6-2) (6-1-1 ATS)
Ohio State ran its way to victory over Wisconsin, 24-10. Buckeyes’ running back, TreVeyon Henderson, carried the ball 24 times for 162 yards and one touchdown. Rutgers will enter this week off a bye week after winning at Indiana, 31-14. The Hoosiers were held to 279 yards of offense. Ohio State is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six games. The total has gone over in five of Rutgers’ last six games against Ohio State. The line is firm at -18.5, while the total slid one notch to 42.5. Pick: Ohio State
Wake Forest (4-4) (3-5) at Duke -12.5 (5-3) (4-4 ATS)
Wake Forest was smoked like a joint by Florida State, 41-16. The Seminoles rolled up 508 yards of total offense. Duke was blanked at Louisville, 23-0. Blue Devils’ quarterback, Riley Leonard, completed 9 of 23 passes for 121 yards. He also carried the ball 10 times for 13 yards. WF is 2-4 ATS in its last six games. The total has gone under in four of Duke’s previous six games against WF. The line rose from 6.5 to 12.5 while the total is floating around 45. Pick: Duke
Virginia Tech (4-4) (5-3 ATS) at #15 Louisville -9.5 (7-1) (4-3-1 ATS)
Virginia Tech squeezed the Orange out of Syracuse, 38-10. Hokies’ running back, Bhayshul Tuten, carried the ball 18 times for 188 yards and one touchdown. Louisville shut out Duke 23-0. Cardinals running back Jawhar Jordan ran the ball 21 times for 163 yards and two scores. Virginia Tech is 4-1 ATS in its last five games. The total has gone under in nine of Louisville’s last 13 games. Louisville is -9.5 at most books, with the total at 48.5. Pick: Virginia Tech
#24 USC (7-2) (2-7 ATS) at #5 Washington -3 (8-0) (3-4-1 ATS)
USC outscored California, 33 to 21, in the second half to win the game, 50-49. The Trojans’ defense surrendered 527 total yards of offense. Washington did what it needed to do to defeat Stanford, 42-33. Huskies’ quarterback, Michael Penix Jr., threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns. Washington is 8-3 ATS in its last 11 games against USC. The total has gone over in USC’s last six games. USC was favored in this game to start the season, but now Washington is -3. The total is at a whopping 76 points. Pick: USC
#4 Florida State -21 (8-0) (6-2 ATS) at Pittsburgh (2-6) (2-6 ATS)
Florida State speared Wake Forest, 41-16. Seminoles quarterback Jordan Travis passed for 359 yards and three touchdowns. Pittsburgh was embarrassed at Notre Dame, 58-7. Panthers’ quarterback, Christian Veilleux, threw for 127 yards and four interceptions. Florida State is 4-1 ATS in its last five games. The total has gone over in 10 of Pittsburgh’s last 12 games. Florida State is firm at -21, and the total climbed a spot to 50.5. Pick: Florida State
Stanford (2-6) (4-4 ATS) at Washington State -13.5 (4-4) (4-4 ATS)
Stanford lost its slugfest against Washington, 42-33. The Cardinal outgained the Huskies in total yards, 495 to 460. Washington State ended Arizona State’s six-game losing streak while falling 38-27. Cougars quarterback Cameron Ward completed 35 of 50 passes for 315 yards and 1 touchdown. He also ran the ball 12 times for 35 yards and two scores. Stanford is 4-10 ATS in its last 14 games. The total has gone over in five of Washington State’s last six games against Stanford. The line jumped one point to -13.5, and the total fell a half of a point to 60. Pick: Washington State
*Notre Dame’s 2023 opponents are listed in bold.
Let’s dump dopey “david” for
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Rutgers…because once a year, for one day, anyone can get behind any team!
C’mon, Rutgers! Please dump the tOSU Furniture Immolators from the guest list.
It seems that the growing stink coming out of Ann Arbor is getting bad enough that they could get dsiqualified, which would then leave 2 playoff spots up for grabs.
Oregon and Texas would both make excellent and deserving replacements.
Yes, Go Rutgers. As bad as I can’t stand Michigan I hate Ohio State even worse. Would love for their obnoxious, arrogant fan base and their smart ass coach to lose.
Those who continually call attention to Clemson’s four losses often fail to point out that only one of those losses came at home – an OT loss to #4 rated Florida State. Another loss was the first game of the year @ Duke, and an OT loss @ Miami. Finally, last week @ NC St., was their second consecutive road game (see: ND @ Louisville), and probably looking ahead to their ND rematch, With Clemson’s season on the verge of collapse, and @ home, and with a three TD loss to avenge from last year, a W by ND on the road in Death Valley without their leading receiver would be among as impressive as any in the Freeman era. Can ND match the emotion and energy Clemson will undoubtedly bring?
What the ND offense can accomplish is the key.
Help clean up this comment section
Let’s dump “david”
Please go to contact: report: forum abuse
“david” posts threatening, obscene, homophobic and transphobic messages
He also selfishly floods the comments with unrelated and senseless rants
Please report him today
Thank you
This game is more in Clemson’s hands than Notre Dame’s.
If Clemson shows up inspired for their coach, ashamed of their performance to date, wanmting to show their fans they’re better than a .500 team….this could be a long day.
If Clemson players are disinterested, checked out, sick of Dabo Swinney, looking at transferring or the NFL…..this could be pitiful.
But either way, for crissakes Caoch Freeman….don’t pull a Brian Kelly, and walk in there utterly unprepared to play football.
Wonder if dopey dave managed to scape together another whopping $20 to bet this week
Get your lock of the week from the gambling Mormons
Haha
I think this game is in Notredame’s hands as they are the better,more talented team. You could not say that in the past. If Notredame plays and coaches like they have in their wins this year they will beat Clemson. But you are right if Notredame goes in there unprepared and Parker continues to run the ball all game into 8 and 9 man boxes Notredame will lose. This game is going to tell a lot about Freeman and his ability to be a really good coach from week to week,game to game. You can’t have bad days in college football and win championships. It’s not the NFL where you can lose 6 games and win the super bowl.
And let’s put 11 men on the field whenever needed.
This team can finish as well or better than the 1978 team…because of a bad start against Michigan followed by a three to zero effort against Mizzery, is one of the most underrated ND teams ever.
So I think it’s past time for NOTRE DAME to stop stopping itself! Be the great team you are capable of.
GO IRISH, BEAT THE TIGERS.
BGC 77 82