Notre Dame vs. Michigan St. Total Pick
Will points be hard to come by when rivals Notre Dame and Michigan State meet up this Saturday night at 8PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Notre Dame is favored on the road, as the Fighting Irish are getting odds of -4 points against Michigan State. The over/under total for the game is listed at 54 points. Notre Dame has won three of the last four between these two and they have hit the under in three of their last four meetings. Saturday’s game will take place from Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan and air live on FOX.
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Notre Dame has started the season 2-1 with wins over Temple and Boston College to go with a loss to Georgia. The Irish have hit the over in both wins and the under in the loss. ND is putting up an average of 39 points and 494.3 yards per game on offense thus far. Josh Adams has rushed for 443 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense while quarterback Brandon Wimbush has 314 rushing yards and six touchdowns to go along with 491 passing yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Irish are allowing just 18.7 points and 352 yards per game.
Michigan State is 2-0 this season with home wins over Bowling Green and Western Michigan. The Spartans have went under the total in both games as their defense has been quite stingy. MSU is allowing just 12 points and 203.5 yards per game thus far, including only 91.5 rushing yards per game. Offensively, Michigan State is putting up 31.5 points and 461 yards per game. The ground game has been the strength there as quarterback Brian Lewerke has rushed for a team-high 150 yards and two touchdowns. LJ Scott has added 125 yards on the ground. Lewerke has thrown for 411 yards and four touchdowns as well.
Bet on Notre Dame vs. Michigan State
The under has been the trend in this series for good reason. Michigan State has been a pretty good defensive team for quite a few years and the unit seems to be operating at full strength right now. Notre Dame has been up against some tough defenses to start the year, but the Spartans could be the best of the bunch. ND struggled to move the ball against Georgia and it could have similar struggles in East Lansing. Michigan State isn’t likely to overwhelm ND with its offense, as the Spartans haven’t looked really cohesive with a new starting quarterback.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PREDICTION: NOTRE DAME/MICHIGAN STATE UNDER 54