Michigan Wolverines vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAA betting tips
Michigan Wolverines vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, Indiana, 7:30 PM EST Saturday September 1, 2018
Betting Line: Notre Dame -1
Over/Under: 46.5 points
The Irish and the Wolverines have a great rivalry, but they have not met since the 2014 season. They renew that heated NCAA rivalry this Saturday where Notre Dame is a very slight home favorite at Bovada.
Michigan has won six of their last nine games facing Notre Dame and they also 6-3 in that span.
In the AP poll Notre Dame is the 12th ranked teams in the nation and Michigan ranks 14th.
In some key head-to-head betting trends the home team is 4-0 ATS in the last four games between these teams and the underdog is 11-5 ATS in the last 16 meetings.
Michigan looks to get back into the elite of college football after a disappointing last season. They began 8-2, but they lost their last three games including losing to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl. The Wolverines return 16 starters, but one of the key players was not on their squad last season. Shea Patterson transferred from Ole Miss and last season he passed for 2,259 yards with 17 TD and nine TD for the Rebels.
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The Wolverines only ranked 91st in the nation last season in total offense, but they hope Patterson can help change that along with returning RB’s Karon Hidgon and Chris Evans. Last season Hidgon rushed for 994 yards averaging a legit 6.1 yards per carry and Evans chimed in for 685 rushing yards. There is some talent in the WR corps, but they need some guys to step up. Grant Perry is back, but while leading the team last season he only had 307 yards with one TD.
Michigan’s D was the strength of the team last season ranking 3rd in the nation. They return nine starters and should be great on that side of the ball again. The key for the Wolverines will be Patterson and the offense and if they can move the chains they will be hard to beat with the D they have, especially in the secondary.
Notre Dame finished 10-3 least season beating LSU in the Citrus Bowl. As usual the Fighting Irish played a killer schedule and they were 3-3 facing top 25 teams.
Duel threat QB Brandon Winbush is back under center for Notre Dame and last season he passed for 1,870 yards with 16 TD and six picks and also was the team’s 2nd leading rusher with 803 yards and 14 TD. Winbush has a decent WR corps, but the Irish did lose their top WR from last season, but he is not a pure passer, which may hurt facing Michigan, who ranked #1 in the nation last season defending the pass.
Lead RB Josh Adams is gone, as well as last season’s 3rd leading rusher, and the lead guy coming back is Dexter Williams, who rushed for 360 yards last season. Winbush needs help from the WR’s and RB’s, as he cannot do it all.
Notre Dame ranked a decent 46th in the nation last season on defense, but may be better this season. Te’von Coney leads the LB unit, Drue Tranquill is a S/LB hybrid, who is a monster, and CB Julian Love may have an All-American season with the talent he has. The D may have to really play well if the offense struggles to move the ball on a great Michigan defensive unit.
Michigan betting trends
- Michigan is 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 road games
- Michigan is 1-5 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games
- Michigan has an Over record of 11-4 in their last 15 road games
Notre Dame betting trends
- Notre Dame is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games
- Notre Dame is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games against Big 10 teams
- Notre Dame has an Under record of 4-0 in their last 4 games
Michigan Wolverines vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish betting picks
Notre Dame is at home and their D may be a very good one this season, but this game belongs to Michigan.
Patterson and the offense will have a decent game, but with the Wolverines having the defense they do that will be more than enough. This game will not feature a ton of points and Michigan will get the win on the road in this season opener.
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