Syracuse vs. Notre Dame Pick
Will a change in defensive coordinators allow Notre Dame to get some stops this week when it hosts Syracuse on Saturday at 1PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at BetDSI, Notre Dame is favored at home on Saturday, as the Irish are getting odds of -10 points against Syracuse. The over/under total for the contest has been set at 74.5 points. These two have split their last four meetings while going 2-1-1 with the under in those encounters.
Bet on Syracuse vs. Notre Dame
The Irish hit a pretty low point last week, suffering a 38-35 loss to Duke at home to fall to 1-3 on the season. Notre Dame hit the over in the loss, their fifth in their last six games. Following the loss, the Irish fired DC Brian VanGorder. This year, ND is giving up 33.5 points and 454 yards per game on defense, and that is against lackluster offenses like Michigan State and Duke. The offense has been solid, averaging 37 points per game behind DeShone Kizer, who has thrown for 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns while rushing for 186 yards and five scores.
Syracuse improved to 2-2 on the season with a 31-24 win at Connecticut last week. The Orange are 3-1 with the under this season, but gave up 62 points to Louisville a few weeks ago. Like ND, Syracuse is struggling on defense, allowing 34.5 points and 466.8 yards per game. The Orange are giving up over 200 yards per game right now. Offensively, Syracuse is putting up 496.5 yards per game, but only averaging 28 points. Eric Dungey has thrown for 1,367 yards and nine touchdowns this season to lead the Orange while Amba Etta-Tawo has caught 40 passes for 706 yards and five touchdowns. He is currently leading the nation in receiving yards.
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On paper this looks like it should be another shootout, but 74.5 points seems too high. Even in last week’s loss to Duke, the total points were just 73. This game could be similar to that, but I also think ND will finally respond a little bit on defense. The firing of VanGorder and the message Kelly has had all week should start shaking things up a little. It won’t be perfect, but there should be some stops in this game.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEK 5 PICK: SYRACUSE/NOTRE DAME UNDER 74.5