Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Michigan State Spartans Betting Preview
Where: Spartan Stadium – East Lansing, MI
When: Saturday, September 23, 2017 – 8:00 PM ET
Line: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-5) vs. Michigan State Spartans (+5) – view all NCAA Football odds and lines
TV Broadcast: FOX
College Football News and Previews
- Ohio State vs. Rutgers NCAA Football Preview - September 30, 2017
- Clemson vs. Virginia Tech NCAA Football Preview - September 30, 2017
- Arizona State vs. Stanford NCAA Football Preview - September 30, 2017
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-1)
After losing by a point to Georgia in Week 2, the Fighting Irish are back in the win column. They cruised past Boston College over the weekend, 49-20. It was the second time in three weeks where they hung 49 points.
Dual-threat quarterback Brandon Wimbush is the center of the offense. He’s still raw passing-wise, but he’s making up for it with his quickness and scrambling ability – Wimbush is only recording 163.3 passing yards per game and a 51.1 completion rate (2-2 touchdown-interception ratio), but he has 314 yards on the ground and six rushing scores on 6.4 yards per carry.
The QB is powering the team’s run game together with main back Josh Adams (443 yards, two TDs) and efficient backup RB Dexter Williams, who has ran for 145 yards and three TDs on 14.5 YPC.
Notre Dame’s defense has been solid for the most part of the year. The unit is only allowing 18.7 points and 352 total yards per game (200.3 passing and 151.7 rushing). It needs improvement in the pass-rushing department, though, as it only has five sacks in three games.
Betting on the Michigan State Spartans (2-0)
The Spartans will be returning from a bye week. They had a pair of commanding wins prior to the break – 35-10 against Bowling Green State and 28-14 over Western Michigan.
There’s no question as to which Spartan should you watch out for. Brain Lewerke, who’s one of the almost countless dual-threat QBs in the country, is basically the team’s offense. He has 410 passing yards and a 4-1 TD-INT ratio, and he also leads Michigan State in rushing – 150 yards and two TDs on 8.8 yards per carry.
Among Lewerke’s key weapons on the scoring attack is the versatile Darrell Stewart. The wideout-slash-running back paces the team in receptions (nine) and receiving yards (118), and he has also ran for 98 yards in just six carries.
Defensively, the Spartans are arguably more well-rounded. They are only giving up 12 points and 203.5 total yards (112 passing and 91.5 rushing), and opposing quarterbacks are only able to complete 37.9 of their throws. It’s a group that appears to be ready to remain disruptive even with the departures of stars Malik McDowell and Riley Bullough.
MSU was only 2-5 at home in 2016 (3-4 ATS), but they have won two-straight to start 2017 (SU and ATS).
Writer’s Prediction
Notre Dame (-5) barely wins and fails to cover the spread, 24-21.
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