Week 6: Cardinal vs. Fighting Irish
Week 6 college betting action sees the No. 14 Stanford Cardinal taking on the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend, Ind. Cappers Picks provides free college football handicapping tips all season long.
Entering this contest, both squads are coming off of victories. The Cardinal took down the Washington Huskies on the road 20-13, while the Fighting Irish defeated the Syracuse Orange at home 31-15.
College Football Odds
#14 Stanford (3-1) vs. #9 Notre Dame (4-0)
Saturday, Oct. 4
3:30 PM ET
Notre Dame Stadium (South Bend, Ind.)
NBC
College Football Betting Lines: Stanford -2
College Football O/U: 44.5
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This will be a low-scoring, grind-it-out battle between two elite defensive-minded teams. If you like old school football, this is the one for you.
Stanford
Stanford and Notre Dame will be one of the marquee matchups of Week 6 in college football. The Stanford defense is as good as it comes, giving up just 6.5 points per game (first in the nation), and its No. 1 ranking in passing yards allowed (74.0 per contest) makes up for the fact that it’s just 42nd in rushing yards allowed.
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Offense, on the other hand, has had trouble against bigger opponents. Take USC for example. The Cardinal managed to score just 10 points in that contest, and if it weren’t for the defense, it would have lost by more than three points.
This game should come down to whether or not the Cardinal offense makes silly mistakes.
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Turning the ball over in the red zone simply isn’t going to cut it against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and that will be the difference maker when the clock strikes zero.
Notre Dame
As good as Stanford’s defense has been this season, Notre Dame is right behind it.
So far on the season, the Fighting Irish are allowing just 11.5 points per game. For those interested in national rankings, that’s good enough for fourth in the country.
Against the pass, this group is just 65th in the country. Against the run, however, the team is 28th.
Stopping the pass will be a priority for Notre Dame in this one, as the Cardinal are just 71st in rushing yards per contest.
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NCAA Football Handicapping Trends:
- Under is 37-14-1 in ND last 52 games on grass.
- Under is 21-8 in ND last 29 vs. Pac-12.
- Under is 10-2 in STAN last 12 games overall.
- STAN are 20-7-1 ATS in their last 28 road games.
- Under is 27-11 in ND last 38 home games.
Week 6 NCAA Football
As previously mentioned, this one should come down to how efficient Stanford can be on offense. We know that both defenses are elite, and we know that it will be a low scoring game; unfortunately for Stanford, what we also know is that turnovers and untimely mistakes mean that much more in battles like these ones.
Stanford is a two-point favorite with a few days left to go before kickoff, and with the sentiment above that offensive control will be the difference-maker, it leaves a big question: Will Stanford cover the spread, and will it even come away with a win straight up?
Free NCAA Betting Pick 4* Stanford -2
The Cardinal are the better tested team at this point in the process. Notre Dame has a 31-0 win over Michigan from Week 2, but with the Wolverines currently at 2-3, you can’t put much stake in that trouncing.
Assuming Stanford plays its game that way is should be played, it should get the win by at least a field goal. Expect this one to be close, and expect a win to propel Stanford back into playoff conversations.
Check out our Updated College Football Week 6 Odds.
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