South Bend is going to be host to the locking of horns of two undefeated ranked teams this coming Saturday, when the No. 7 Stanford Cardinal take their acts to the home of the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. A win here by either team will be a huge boost to their College Football Championship aspirations. Read on for a preview of the meeting between these two heavyweight football programs.
NCAA football futures list the Cardinal with +4,000 odds to win the College Football Championship while the Fighting Irish are given a better shot with +2,000 to take it all at the end of the year.
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Betting Preview for the Stanford Cardinal vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAA Football Week 5 Game on September 29, 2018
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend
When: Sunday, September 23, 2018, 1:00 PM ET
Line: Stanford Cardinal (+5.5) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-5.5) – view all 2018 NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NBC
Betting on the Stanford Cardinal (4-0 Overall / 2-0 Conference)
There was no shortage of shocking wins last Saturday, but what Stanford pulled off that day against the No. 20 Oregon Ducks on the road was probably the biggest of them all. At one point of that game, Stanford found itself trailing the Ducks, 30-7, in the third quarter before an Oregon rushing touchdown was overturned to get the score back to 24-7. What happened next was the Cardinal outscoring the Ducks, 31-7, the rest of the way to steal an improbable 38-31 win in Eugene. Stanford passed for 327 passing yards and three touchdowns with no picks thrown on 19-of-26 completions. Star running back Bryce Love, on the other hand, had 89 rushing yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. It’s the type of win that Stanford can build on ahead of a tough fight against Notre Dame. The Cardinal can’t afford to fall behind the Fighting Irish early, as Notre Dame’s defense seemingly isn’t the type that will let opponents get back in the game once they have the lead.
Stanford, which is 37th in the nation with 31.5 points per game, is 6-1 ATS in its last seven games.
Betting on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0 Overall / 0-0 Conference)
Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book was simply efficient in the Fighting Irish’s easy 56-27 road win against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons last week. Book tossed the pigskin for 325 passing yards and two touchdowns against zero interceptions, while completing 25 of 34 passes. Book also got a ton of help from Notre Dame’s backfield, which complemented him perfectly with 241 rushing yards and six touchdowns. In fact, Book had 43 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. Book’s dual-threat abilities will be an especially tough challenge for Stanford’s defense, but he’s very unlikely to have as much success, as the Cardinal are 10th in the nation with just 14.7 points allowed per game. A wide receiver in sophomore Jafar Armstrong led Notre Dame in the Wake Forest game with 98 rushing yards. He has five rushing touchdowns on the season, and could be used by Notre Dame to confuse Stanford’s defense. The Fighting Irish’s stop unit isn’t a joke itself, as it surrenders just 19.2 points per game.
The under is 4-0 in Notre Dame’s last four home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Stanford wins, 28-24.
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