The No. 3 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame (-18) are gearing up to welcome the Florida State Seminoles to Notre Dame Stadium. The game starts at 7:30 p.m. ET and fans can catch it live by tuning in to NBC.
Betting Preview: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Florida State Seminoles
In this Saturday game, Notre Dame is projected as the big favorite and the team’s currently giving up 18 points. If they are wanting to play the moneyline, bettors would currently need to spend $1,500 in order to win $100 back on the Irish (-1500). The Seminoles are getting +810 moneyline odds. Vegas has set the over/under (O/U) at 55 points. It appears that there should be multiple good in-game betting scenarios in this matchup.
The hapless Seminoles are 3-6 against the spread (ATS) and are down 5.0 units so far. The team’s posted an O/U record of 6-3.
The surprising Fighting Irish have gained 6.3 units this season. The team is 4-4-1 ATS and has an O/U record of 5-4.
The flawless Seminoles have gone 4-5 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Fighting Irish are 9-0 SU.
The Seminoles fell to North Carolina State 47-28 in a thumping where James Blackman completed 29 passes for 421 yards, four touchdowns and one interception. The Seminoles managed a total of 24 rushing yards as a team in the defeat.
Notre Dame just put together a 31-21 win over Northwestern. The defensive unit allowed the Wildcats to run for 108 yards on 40 rush attempts, including two rush TDs. Isaiah Bowser was a bright spot in the defeat for Northwestern, posting 93 rushing yards on 23 attempts. For Notre Dame, Ian Book completed 22-of-34 passes for 343 yards and two touchdowns. Dexter Williams (56 rushing yards on 19 attempts, one TD) and the signal-caller Book (56 yards on 11 carries, one TD) handled the running attack as Chase Claypool (eight receptions, 130 yards) and Chris Finke (five catches, 45 yards) led the pass-catching attack in the win.
Florida State has run the ball on 46.3 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Notre Dame has an overall rush percentage of 57.7 percent. The Seminoles have run for 76.9 yards per game and have seven touchdowns on the ground this year. The Irish are putting up 181.0 rush yards per game and have 22 total rushing TDs.
If the results so far this season can translate to this game, then it seems like the Irish ought to hold an advantage when it comes to applying pressure. Their offensive line has allowed only 14 sacks while the D-line has logged 22 sacks. The Seminoles offensive line has given up 28 sacks and their defense has sacked opposing signal-callerss just 24 times.
The Noles offensive scheme has averaged 283.2 yards through the air overall and has 18 passing scores so far. The Irish have put up 268.1 pass yards per contest and have 16 total pass TDs.
Defensively, Florida State has allowed opponents to run for an average of 111.1 yards and pass for 282.6 yards per game. The Notre Dame defense has allowed 188.4 yards per game to opposing passers and 142.6 yards per game on the ground. The Irish are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of just 3.92 to opposing QBs, while the Seminoles have allowed a 6.40 ANY/A.
Offensively, Blackman has amassed 422 passing yards this year, and has connected on 64 percent of his 47 attempts with four passing scores and one interception. He has an 8.12 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 9.23 over the last two outings.
We expect Blackman to spread the ball around early and often in this one. Tamorrion Terry (3 receiving yards and seven touchdowns), D.J. Matthews (306 yards, one TD) and Keyshawn Helton (3 yards) have all been heavily involved recently.
Ian Book has completed 125-of-171 passes for 1,494 yards, 13 TDs and three INTs for Notre Dame. His ANY/A sits at 8.73 for the season and 10.57 over his last two outings.
Dexter Williams (426 rushing yards, five rush TDs, 14 receiving yards this season), Chase Claypool (391 receiving yards, three receiving TDs) and Jafar Armstrong (263 rush yards, five rush TDs, 87 receiving yards) have each played key roles lately. The trio’s combined to account for 559 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns over the last two games.
Florida State Seminoles at Notre Dame Fighting Irish Betting Pick
SU Winner: Notre Dame, ATS Winner: Florida State, O/U: Over
Team Betting Notes
- Florida State has produced 1.6 yards per carry over its last three outings and 0.1 over its last two.
- Notre Dame has averaged 3.8 yards per carry over its last three games and 4.5 over its last two.
- Notre Dame has lost three fumbles this season while Florida State has let 11 get away.
- Florida State has lost four of its last five games SU, with a 21-point victory over Wake Forest on October 20th accounting for the only win over that stretch.
- Both teams have produced five pass plays of 40 yards or more. The Seminoles have have made 19 pass plays of 30+ yards while the Fighting Irish have created 14 such plays.
- The Florida State defense has allowed 12 pass plays of 40 or more yards, while Notre Dame has given up two such plays.
- The Florida State offense has created four rushing plays of 20 yards or more, while Notre Dame has created 14 such runs.
- The Seminoles defense has allowed five rushing plays of 20 or more yards, while the Fighting Irish have given up nine such runs.
- The Florida State defense has sacked opposing quarterbacks 24 times this season. Notre Dame has recorded 22 sacks.
