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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 34 1⁄2 point favorites in their Saturday game against the Ball State Cardinals.
The over/under — or total points oddsmakers expect the two teams to score — is 62, which suggests a 48-14 Irish win (or better). That line opened at 58 points, with bettors hammering the over to push the line upwards.
The Oddsshark computer is not convinced that the boat race will materialize just one week after an emotional, hard-fought win at home over the Michigan Wolverines. It’s got the final score as 31.9 to 1.3, which would ensure a Ball State cover with the under paying out as well.
The Athletic’s Collin Wilson noted that this game’s line was one of the biggest movers on Sunday, “but not in favor of the Irish.”
Ball State opened +39.5 for its trip to South Bend. Sunday bettors immediately hit the Cardinals after a strong Week 1 showing against Central Connecticut State, and expectations that the Irish may have a hangover after their victory against Michigan. As Sunday drew to a close, Notre Dame -33.5 was available at most shops.
The Irish have attracted 60 percent of the bets placed on the spread, according to SportsInsights. That doesn’t take into account the size of the bets.
If you are considering betting this game, here’s some trends to consider — courtesy of Oddsshark:
- Ball State is 2-7 against the spread in its last nine games; the Cardinals are 1-4 against the spread in their last five games on the road.
- Notre Dame is 8-4 against the spread in its last 12 games and 5-2 against the spread in its last seven home games.
- The total has gone over in 4 of Ball State’s last five road games; the total has gone under in 4 of Notre Dame’s last five home games. (Well, that’s not super helpful!)
- Notre Dame is 2-9 against the spread in its last 11 Week 2 games.
- Ball State is 19-11 in its last 30 games when they have 1) played on the road and 2) been an underdog.
Betting Lines for Notre Dame & Its 2018 Opponents
| Team | Record ATS | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Record ATS | Opponent | Time | Date | Network | Spread | Over/under |
| Michigan Wolverines | 0-1 | vs. Western Michigan | Noon | Saturday | FS1 | Favorite by 28 | 55.5 |
| Ball State Cardinals | 0-0 | at Notre Dame | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | NBC | Underdog by 34.5 | 62 |
| Vanderbilt Commodores | 1-0 | vs. Nevada | Noon | Saturday | SEC Network | Favorite by 9 | 63 |
| Wake Forest Demon Deacons | 0-0-1 | vs. Towson | Noon | Saturday | ACC Network | No line | No line |
| Stanford Cardinal | 1-0 | vs. USC | 8:30 p.m. | Saturday | FOX | Favorite by 4.5 | 55 |
| Virginia Tech Hokies | 1-0 | vs. William & Mary | 2 p.m. | Saturday | ACC Network | No line | No line |
| Pittsburgh Panthers | 0-0 | vs. Penn State | 8 p.m. | Saturday | ABC | Underdog by 9 | 57 |
| Navy Midshipmen | 0-1 | vs. Memphis | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | CBS Sports Network | Underdog by 6.5 | 70 |
| Northwestern Wildcats | 1-0 | vs. Duke | Noon | Saturday | ESPNU | Favorite by 3 | 49 |
| Florida State Seminoles | 0-1 | vs. Samford | 7:20 p.m. | Saturday | ACC Network | No line | No line |
| Syracuse Orange | 1-0 | vs. Wagner | 3:30 p.m. | Saturday | Watch ESPN | No line | No line |
| USC Trojans | 0-1 | at Stanford | 8:30 p.m. | Saturday | FOX | Underdog by 4.5 | 55 |
HEISMAN ODDS
Updated odds after Week 1 from @LVSuperBook to win the 2018 Heisman Trophy: pic.twitter.com/bw3RkYqSwq
— Covers (@Covers) September 4, 2018
Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush became slightly more favored at the Las Vegas Sportsbook to win the Heisman than he was last week. He’s now a 30-to-1 favorite, up for 40-to-1 last week.
Jafar Armstrong, who scored two of Notre Dame’s touchdowns on the ground, saw his odds drop from 50-to-1 to 60-to-1.
Here are Irish opponents on the odds list:
- Bryce Love’s disappointing first week for the Stanford Cardinal forced his odds to take a dip. He was 9-to-2 last week and is now 12-to-1.
- Shea Patterson’s underwhelming performance against the Irish hurt his odds of becoming college football’s best player. The Michigan Wolverines’ quarterback went from 30-to-1 at the sportsbook last week to 60-to-1 this week.
- Cam Akers and Deondre Francois of the Florida State Seminoles continue their downward descent. They are now both at 80-to-1 odds, more remote than last week’s 60-to-1.
- The USC Trojans’ Stephen Carr has held steady at 200-to-1 for these two weeks. JT Daniels, the Trojans’ freshman quarterback, improved his odds from 100-to-1 to 40-to-1.
CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
Updated odds to win 2019 College Football National Championship from @southpointlv @andrewssports pic.twitter.com/ScAnNLspSY
— Covers (@Covers) September 4, 2018
In a move that likely doesn’t come as a surprise, Notre Dame’s odds of winning the 2019 National Championship improved from 35-to-1 to 25-1 following their defeat of Michigan.
Here are the odds of the Irish’s opponents winning it all, according to the South Point Sports Book:
- Michigan: Opened 12-to-1, was 15-to-1 last week, now 25-to-1
- Ball State: No line offered
- Vanderbilt Commodores: Opened at 500-to-1, remains there
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons: Opened at 200-to-1, remains there
- Stanford Cardinal: Opened at 40-to-1, has slipped to 50-to-1 and stayed there for two weeks
- Virginia Tech Hokies: Opened at 35-to-1, has fallen to 50-to-1 and stayed there for two weeks
- Pittsburgh Panthers: Opened at 500-to-1, remains there
- Navy Midshipmen: Opened at 500-to-1, remains there
- Northwestern Wildcats: Opened at 200-to-1, but is now a longer shot at 300-to-1 for the past two weeks
- Florida State Seminoles: Started at 25-to-1, down to 50-1 last week and has actually improved to 40-to-1.
- Syracuse Orange: Started at 300-to-1 and is still there
- USC Trojans: Started at 35-to-1 and remains there