For the first time since 2014, the Louisville Cardinals (+50,000 to win the ACC title) and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (+6000 to win the 2020 College Football Championship) will lock horns, this coming Monday. The Cardinals are set to debut a new head coach and will be looking to ambush a Fighting Irish squad that may be overlooking Louisville a bit. Read on for more about this game.
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Betting Preview for the Houston Cougars vs Oklahoma Sooners Week 1 College Football Game on September 2 2019
Where: Cardinal Stadium, Louisville
When: Monday, September 2 , 2019, 8:00 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-18.5) vs. Louisville Cardinals (+18.5) – view all 2019 NCAAF lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
The Fighting Irish saw quarterback Brandon Wimbush to the UCF Knights, but they will still be fine primarily because they have Ian Book back. Book will be steering Notre Dame’s passing attack once again. The Fighting Irish averaged 31.4 points per game and 440.4 total yards per contest. Book missed some games last season to injury, but he put up 2,628 passing yards and 19 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Book will not have two of the top four Notre Dame receivers a season ago to target downfield, but the team’s receiving corps doesn’t have a talent shortage. For one, Notre Dame has the pair of Chase Claypool (639 receiving yards, four receiving touchdowns) and Chris Finke (571 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns). The two will mostly share the targets left by Miles Boykin, who’s now a Baltimore Raven. The defense should remain tough for Notre Dame, which returns over half of their top 10 tacklers along with six starters.
The Fighting Irish are 5-4-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last 10 games.
Betting on the Louisville Cardinals (0-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
The Cardinals’ 2018 defense was horrendous to say the least, but the silver lining to it heading into the new season can be found in the stop unit’s experience. Louisville allowed 478. Points per game last year, but that the defense should improve with nine of the team’s top 11 tacklers in 2018 are coming back to give it another go in college.The change in the head coach position also brings promise for Louisville. After firing Bobby Petrino, the Cardinals hired Scott Satterfield out of Appalachian State. The offense of the Cardinals will rely greatly on their offensive line that is looking to get production and effectiveness from tackle Mekhi Becton, who’s viewed by many as a future star in the NFL. That’s a good start for the Cardinals’ offense that managed just 18.7 points and 352.6 total yards per game a season ago. With the o-line expected to perform better, the Cardinals believe they can get more from quarterback Jawon Pass Jr., who was a mess under center in 2018, passing for just 1,960 yards and eight touchdowns against 12 interceptions.
The over is 3-0 in Louisville’s last three games.
Writer’s Prediction
The Fighting Irish wins, 29-13.
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