Time: 3:30 PM EST, Sat
Spread: ND -17
Total: 46
Betting Odds from Bookmaker
The Fighting Irish turned in another awesome performance last week, in holding then-No. 8 Oklahoma to just 13, while putting up 30 themselves, 20 of which came in the fourth quarter. It moved ND up to 3rd in the BCS and coach Brian Kelly said they aren’t really thinking about it.
“We don’t really think about that. We really don’t care what other people think of us, the players really just care about each other, Notre Dame, and winning football games. They’ll let everybody else decide who we are,” Kelly said.
Notre Dame has done it on the strength of their defense. They held that Sooners squad to 13, and Oklahoma averages 44.7 per game. The Fighting Irish allow only 9.9 points per game, second in the nation to only Alabama.
Manti Te’o had 11 tackles and his fifth interception of the year. He is now averaging 10 tackles per game. Teo said the team “(has) come a long way” and “we’re going to continue to get better.”
Getting better should just be covering the spread against this Pittsburgh team. A two-plus touchdown win by the Fighting Irish would keep them on their way to the top of the rankings, though overtaking Alabama may be though.
Pittsburgh is led by Tino Sunseri, who has posted a 164.8 QB rating and threw 20-for-28 in the win over Temple last week. He had 321 total yards and three TDs in the win. RB Ray Graham impressed too, running for 109 yards and two TDs. Graham has rushed for 622 yards on 134 carries on the season, with seven TDs. Freshman RB Rushel Shell joins him in the backfield with 441 yards on 87 carries and four TDs.
The Panthers won that game against Temple, and won the previous week against Buffalo, too, after losing two straight to Syracuse (Oct 5) and then-No. 18 Louisville (Oct 13). They’ll close the season with games against UConn, Rutgers, and South Florida.
Pittsburgh Betting Trends:
Panthers are 6-1-1 ATS in their last 8 following an ATS win, 4-1 ATS in their last 5 in NOV, 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 on the road, 11-4 ATS in their last 15 vs teams with winning records, 1-3-2 ATS in their last 6 following an SU win of 20+
Notre Dame Betting Trends:
Fighting Irish are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 after allowing less than 100 rushing yards and are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 non-conf games, 4-10 ATS in their last 14 after allowing 280+ passing yards, and 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 vs the Big East.
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