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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0) are 24-point favorites Saturday in their neutral-site matchup against the Navy Midshipmen (2-5), according to oddsmakers.
The over/under — or number of combined points scored by these two teams — is 54.5. That suggests a 39-15 Irish victory.
The OddsShark computer is predicting a closer contest, with the Irish prevailing 35-22. If that were the final result, bettors holding slips for Notre Dame on the money line, Navy against the spread and for the over would be winners.
If you are considering betting this game, here are some trends from OddsShark:
- Notre Dame is 1-4 against the spread in its last five games when playing Navy.
- The total has gone over in six of Notre Dame’s last eight games against Navy.
The Action Network’s Steve Petrella says Navy is 33-14 against the spread as a 20-plus point underdog since 1980.
“Defending the triple-option is probably like trying to tackle Jell-O, if that Jell-O was also taunting you because you couldn’t stop it,” wrote Petrella. “It moves and shifts its shape, and when you think you’ve wrestled it down, it’s an extra five yards down the field in a manageable third-down situation.”
That sounds about right. Navy is having trouble moving the ball this year, but I still don’t trust the Irish to cover this four score spread with limited possessions.
Here are the betting lines for all of Notre Dame’s 2018 opponents. The Michigan Wolverines are off this week.
Spreads for Notre Dame’s 2018 Opponents
| Team | Record ATS | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Record ATS | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
| Michigan Wolverines | 5-3 | No game | --- | --- | --- | No line | No line |
| Ball State Cardinals | 3-4 | at Ohio | 7 p.m. | Thursday | CBS Sports Network | Underdog by 10 | 64 |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | 4-3 | at Arkansas | Noon | Saturday | SEC Network | Favorite by 2 | 52.5 |
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 1-4-1 | at Louisville | Noon | Saturday | Regional Sports Network | Underdog by 2.5 | 65 |
| Stanford Cardinal | 4-2 | vs. Washington St. | 7 p.m. | Saturday | Pac-12 Network | Favorite by 3 | 54.5 |
| Virginia Tech Hokies | 2-3 | vs. Georgia Tech | 7:30 p.m. | Thursday | ESPN | Favorite by 3 | 58.5 |
| Pittsburgh Panthers | 3-3 | vs. Duke | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | Regional Sports Network | Underdog by 2.5 | 47 |
| Navy Midshipmen | 1-4-1 | vs. Notre Dame | 8 p.m. | Saturday | CBS | Underdog by 24 | 54.5 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 3-4 | vs. Wisconsin | Noon | Saturday | Big Ten Network | Underdog by 6.5 | 51.5 |
| Florida State Seminoles | 3-3 | vs. Clemson | Noon | Saturday | ABC | Underdog by 17 | 51 |
| Syracuse Orange | 4-2 | vs. N.C. State | 7 p.m. | Saturday | ESPN2 | Underdog by 2 | 63.5 |
| USC Trojans | 2-5 | vs. Arizona St. | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | ABC/ESPN2 | Favorite by 6.5 | 54 |
CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
The implosion of the Ohio State Buckeyes helped improved the Irish’s championship odds at the Westgate Superbook from 8-to-1 to 7-to-1.
The Michigan Wolverines’ late beatdown of “little brother” Michigan State Wolverines — combined with the Buckeyes’ loss — improved their championship odds from 25-to-1 to 12-1. That’s the most favorable odds since before their Week 1 loss to Notre Dame.
Championship Odds at Westgate Sportsbook
| Team | Preseason (8/13) | Week 14 (11/26) |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Preseason (8/13) | Week 14 (11/26) |
| Notre Dame | 30-to-1 | 12-to-1 |
| Alabama | 7-to-4 | 2-to-5 |
| Clemson | 4-to-1 | 7-to-2 |
| Ohio State | 6-to-1 | 20-to-1 |
| Georgia | 6-to-1 | 12-to-1 |
| Oklahoma | 20-to-1 | 20-to-1 |
| UCF | Off the board | 1000-to-1 |
HEISMAN ODDS
I couldn’t find Heisman odds from Westgate, the superbook I’ve been using for weeks, online. So here are the odds from Bovada:
- Alabama Crimson Tide’s Tua Tagovailoa: 4-to-11
- Oklahoma Sooners’ Kyle Murray: 7-to-2
- Ohio State Buckeyes’ Dwayne Haskins: 12-to-1
- Michigan Wolverines’ Shea Patterson: 12-to-1
- Penn State Nittany Lions’ Trace Sorley: 14-to-1
- West Virginia Mountaineers’ Will Grier: 20-to-1
- UCF Knights’ McKenize Milton: 20-to-1
- Clemson Tigers’ Travis Etienne — 25-to-1 — and Trevor Lawrence — 40-to-1
- Wisconsin Badgers’ Jonathan Taylor: 50-to-1
- Oregon Ducks’ Justin Herbert: 100-to-1
- Missouri Tigers’ Drew Lock: 100-to-1
- Stanford Cardinal’s Bryce Love: 200-to-1