BYU
vs.
Notre Dame
College Football
Pick
11/23/13
It’s the battle of the independents with both teams coming in with 7-3 records. Notre Dame arguably has the more impressive Schedule, but a recent loss at Pittsburgh doesn’t look too great for them. The current line is pk with a total of 54 at 5 dimes sportsbook.
The betting public favors BYU here with 74% of the wagers at 5dimes.com coming in on the Cougars.
The Cougars have been an interesting team this year. They started off with a loss at Virginia, but beat Texas in their next Game, and then fell back down and lost to Utah. since that early stretch, the Cougars rolled off wins against Houston and Boise State before losing at Wisconsin.
OUtside of the Pittsburgh loss for the Fighting Irish, things have been fairly predictable. They lost to Michigan when the Wolverines still had hope and gave Michigan State its only loss. A loss to Oklahoma is respectable, which is followed by nice wins over Arizona State and USC.
BYU’s offense is basically quarterback Taysom Hill. He does it all for them, passing for 16 touchdowns and leading the team in rushing with 956 yards and eight TDs. The problem is that he’s not a great passer, completing just 52 percent on the year. He had trouble getting much going against Wisconsin, which could be the case here. Even against Idaho State in a 59-13 win last weekend, Hill threw three interceptions. Hill’s struggles have gone right in line with wide receiver Cody Hoffman, who’s numbers are about split in half from last season. Jamaal Williams is solid at running back and will need to move the ball along with Hill on the ground.
Notre Dame’s defense has struggled in recent weeks and can be beaten. They gave up 34 points to Navy and then 28 at Pittsburgh in their last Game.
Offensively, the Irish have been respectable, but can’t really run points up on anyone and that definitely won’t happen here. When Tommy Rees is asked to do too much, it’s usually not a good thing. After attempting less than 23 passes in three straight wins, Rees went 18-for-38 in the loss against Pittsburgh with two TDs and two INTs. He’s not terrible with 24 TDs and 10 INTs on the year, but this team is better off gaining the edge on the ground. George Atkinson III led the Irish in rushing against Pitt, yet he only had six carries for 57 yards. No one has more than 512 rushing yards on the year for the Irish. Wide receiver TJ Jones is expected to have another solid Game, as he’s now on three straight with at least 100 yards.
BYU can play defense so this Game will likely come down to the Fourth quarter. The Cougars contained Wisconsin for the most part a couple weeks ago and Notre Dame has a lesser offense.
This Game will end up being similar to last year’s 17-14 win for ND. It’ll be low scoring, but the Cougars may have the edge this time around as the Irish don’t have as great of a defense.
The Cougars are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 road Games vs. a team with a winning home record and 13-6 ATS in their last 19 road Games. The Fighting Irish are 5-1 ATS in their last six Games following a bye week, but just 3-7-1 ATS in their last 11 home Games.
We normally don’t offer Our Key Releases on a weekly basis. However, this week since we are playing 7 Games, possibly 8, you can pick them all up for $20. This Game is one of the Key Releases. If we don’t go at least 4-3 this week, you’ll also receive next weeks plays. Click Here to Purchase