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Notre Dame Football: Betting Lines for Ball State, Plus Heisman and Championship Odds

Oddsmakers expect offensive fireworks in Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday as the Irish are 34 1⁄2 point favorites.

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Mike Miller/One Foot Down

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 34 12 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

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 TrojansStephen 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

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: