Michigan St vs Notre Dame NCAA Football Odds
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have already faced one rival from the state of Michigan this season, falling to the Wolverines 40-31 on Sept. 7. Now they’ll look to bounce back with a win over the Michigan State Spartans. The Fighting Irish are coming off of a 31-24 win against Purdue in Week 3.
Michigan State Spartans (3-0) @ No. 22 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-1)
Saturday, Sept. 21, 3:30 PM ET @ Notre Dame Stadium
Moneyline: Michigan State +215, Notre Dame -255
Spread: Notre Dame -7
O/U: 41
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The Spartans are also coming off of a victory, and while the competition was far from stiff, a 55-17 trouncing of Youngstown should give them confidence entering Notre Dame Stadium.
Michigan State
The Michigan State Spartans may not be the talk of the town when it comes to casual fans, but their defense has been beyond mention-worthy at this stage in the season. They’re giving up just 12 points per contest, which is good enough for 12th in the nation.
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Entering the showdown with Notre Dame, the Spartans must be able to stop the pass. Notre Dame has put up 326 yards per contest through the air, which is good enough for 16th in the FBS. Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, those yards haven’t always equated to scores, as they’re posting fewer than 30 points per game.
Michigan State has the fourth-ranked defense in the country in terms of rushing. Stopping an already-anemic ground game will help keep Notre Dame one dimensional, but stopping the passing game will be crucial for this group. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish have two consecutive wins against the Spartans, but if they hope to gain a third, they’ll have to take down a defense that has been down-right dominant up to this point.
Fortunately for Notre Dame, the Spartans have one blemish on the defensive side of the ball—protecting the red zone. Inside 20 yards, the Spartans have looked like a different team, and not in a good way. If the Fighting Irish can get downfield, their chances of scoring drastically increase against this team. Using the power run game of Cam McDaniel will help, but establishing an early connection between DaVaris Daniels and Tommy Reese could be the real kicker.
Defensively, Notre Dame is not what it was when it went to the championship game last season. It has to rely on its offense more than it did in 2012, which is going to be tough if it can’t get into the red zone.
The Spartans are just 1-2 ATS this season, but they have history on their side entering this matchup. The last eight times they’ve been up against Notre Dame on the road, they’ve gone 7-1 ATS. Notre Dame is 0-3 ATS this season, and a low-scoring battle could put them in a tough spot against Michigan State on Saturday.
Score Prediction: Michigan State 28 – Notre Dame 21
