Wake Forest
vs.
Notre Dame
College Football
Free Pick
11/4/17
People are starting to come around on Notre Dame and the College Football Playoff is looking like a real possibility. While some tough Games remain, the Irish should be favorites in all of them including this one against a Wake Forest team that just dropped Louisville with ease. The Fighting Irish were early -13 point favorites at 5Dimes Sportsbook.
There’s a decent chance this spread changes some leading up to the Game considering all of Notre Dame’s wins have come by at least 19 points. The Irish just beat USC and NC State by 35 and 21 points, respectively, so that should lead to a lot of backers. Plus, not many believe that Wake Forest is better than either one of those teams.
The Demon Deacons are solid, but they haven’t had enough against better teams, which is why all of their losses are to FSU, Clemson and Georgia Tech. Notre Dame presents the same kind of challenge and this could be a similar result to the 38-24 loss Wake had against GT.
The big thing is that Wake Forest is allowing more than 180 rushing yards per Game and that’s not how you want to attack Notre Dame. NC State has a much better run defense and that still didn’t matter as the Irish ran for 318 yards on 5.9 yards per carry. Behind what could be the best offensive line in the country, look for Josh Adams (1,169 yards, 8.9 ypc, 9 TDs) and quarterback Brandon Wimbush to have their way against this Wake Forest defense. Considering no one has stopped the Irish from rushing the ball this season, don’t expect them to stop here and that should lead to 30 points at a minimum. Wimbush has been fine as a passer, but that hasn’t really been a factor in any Game this season outside of the Georgia loss.
The other end is what will decide which team covers this Game. Notre Dame is giving up plenty of yards through the air (232 yards per Game), but that’s mainly because they’re ahead in every Game. The Irish still have done enough to keep every opponent at 20 points or less and that includes the offenses of Georgia and USC. Wake rolled for 42 points against Louisville, but that can’t really be looked at for this Game. It also doesn’t help that top receiver Greg Dortch (53 receptions, 722 yards, 9 TDs) got injured last week and is out for the rest of the season.
Without his top receiver, John Wolford (15 TDs, 2 INTs) will have a lot of work to do. He’s having his best collegiate season, in his Fourth year as the team’s starter, but that still hasn’t been enough to beat the likes of FSU or GT. And without Dortch, it will be a lot to ask of Wolford to keep this Game competitive if they can’t run the ball. Wolford leads the Deacons in rushing, but only has 341 yards with a couple others close behind. If Wake goes down early, don’t expect them to run the ball much anyway.
The Demon Deacons are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 road Games and 6-2 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The Fighting Irish have covered in their last six overall and are 4-1 ATS in their last five home Games.
Our Pick – Notre Dame -14.5