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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won’t be playing on conference championship weekend, but four opponents they vanquished during the 2018 season have games Saturday.
The Northwestern Wildcats, Pittsburgh Panthers, Stanford Cardinal and Virginia Tech Hokies will play for varying stakes, with the first two vying for titles.
The ’Cats are 14 1⁄2 point underdogs to the Ohio State Buckeyes, according to oddsmakers, in the Big Ten Title game played at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Panthers face even longer odds as 26 1⁄2 or 27 point dogs to the Clemson Tigers for the ACC Championship, which is played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The Cardinal (7-4), meanwhile, will be looking to retain possession of the Stanford Axe when it plays the California Golden Bears (7-4) in a Big Game rescheduled from Nov. 17 due to the Camp Fire.
Virginia Tech (5-6) will play the Marshall Thundering Herd (8-3) in an effort to keep alive the NCAA’s longest active bowl streak. A Hokies win — far from guaranteed, although they are 4 1⁄2 point favorites — would extend their run of post-season appearances to 26 straight years.
Both teams missed Week 3 games due to Hurricane Florence. The Herd were supposed to play the South Carolina Gamecocks, while the Hokies were set to take on the East Carolina Pirates. East Carolina is also playing this weekend, but their opponent is N.C. State.
Here are the spreads and TV airtimes for games that will likely be of interest to Irish fans.
Week 14 Betting Lines
| Team | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
| Oklahoma | vs. Texas (Arlington, Tex.) | Noon | Saturday | ABC | Favorite by 7.5 | 78 or 79 |
| Virginia Tech | vs. Marshall | Noon | Saturday | ACC Network | Favorite by 4.5 | 53 |
| Stanford | at California | 3 p.m. | Saturday | Pac-12 Networks | Favorite by 2.5 | 48 or 48.5 |
| UCF | vs. Memphis | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | ABC | Favorite by 3 | 64 or 64.5 |
| Alabama | vs. Georgia (Atlanta) | 4 p.m. | Saturday | CBS | Favorite by 13 or 13.5 | 63.5 or 64 |
| Pittsburgh | vs. Clemson (Charlotte) | 8 p.m. | Saturday | ABC | Underdog by 26.5 or 27 | 53 |
| Northwestern | vs. Ohio State (Indianapolis) | 8 p.m. | Saturday | FOX | Underdog by 14.5 | 60.5 or 61 |
CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Westgate Sportsbook in Las Vegas is now offering action on just seven teams to win the College Football Playoff Championship.
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 |
Here are the implied odds of each bet:
Alabama Crimson Tide: 71.43 percent
Clemson: 22.22 percent
Notre Dame or Georgia Bulldogs: 7.69 percent
Ohio State or Oklahoma Sooners: 4.76 percent
UCF Knights: 0.1 percent
If you’ve got $10 and a thirst for chaos, perhaps you could lay the money on UCF and root for Alabama, Pittsburgh, Northwestern and Texas to prevail this weekend. Or you could set the Hamilton on fire, since the end result will be the same.
What games will you be watching this weekend?