College Football Best Bets - Ohio State at Notre Dame
Bet it in a minute: Take Penn State, Notre Dame
Brad Thomas, Vaughn Dalzell and Eric Froton each give a one minute pitch for a handful of Week 4 college football bets, including Wisconsin at Purdue, Iowa at Penn State, Ohio State at Notre Dame, and more.
After months of anticipation, the game of the season is officially here. Sixth-ranked Ohio State travels to South Bend, Indiana, to take on ninth-ranked Notre Dame. This weekend's game marks the eighth meeting between the two teams, and if last year’s game gives us any indication, we are in for a fantastic game.
Last season, Ohio State beat Notre Dame 21-10, but the final score does not indicate how close the game was. In fact, the Irish had a 10-7 lead at the half against the Buckeyes. However, Ohio State tightened their defensive screws and outscored Notre Dame 14-0 in the second half.
Ohio State had home-field advantage in that game, and boy, what an advantage it was. I’ve been to some loud games, and this one was near the top of the list.
When the lookahead line opened, my first reaction was quick. “Ain’t no way Ohio State just rolls into South Bend and beats Notre Dame by nine points.” I’m not saying it can’t happen, but it felt almost outrageous to make the spread -8.5 for a team on the road at night, with a young quarterback playing in his first hostile night game.
The line has since come down to -3 on BetMGM Sportsbook. That line feels more correct than the opening line, even more than the -5s that were hanging around early in the week.
Not only because I’ve been tasked to study Notre Dame in-depth this season and breakdown their games each week this season, but also because I will be in attendance, at field level, with my fellow NBC Sports College Football Analyst Eric Froton, I will have a bet or plenty of bets for this game.
Full transparency: I’ve already bet on Notre Dame at +3.5 and parlayed their alt-line of +8 with Ole Miss’s alt-line of +13. It’s hard for me to recommend betting +3 after the number has passed through the key number. I still like it because I think the teams are even, and getting points for the home team in what can be a coin flip provides value in itself.
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So, if the spread has moved past the +3.5 number I gave out on my Twitter Page and you didn’t bet the parlay with +8, what could you possibly bet on this game?
I’m betting Cade Stover Over 27.5 Receiving Yards (-114).
I’m usually not one to get my hands dirty with betting tight ends, but I can’t ignore what we’ve been seeing on the field from Stover.
It’s said that pass-catching tight ends are a young quarterback’s best friend. The numbers from the Kyle McCord-Stover relationship would agree. Despite not seeing a target in the Youngstown State game, he’s been a focal point of the offense.
In each game, he’s seen at least 50 snaps, with his highest being 68 against Indiana. In the two games Stover was targeted, he’s been targeted 12 times in two games with an average of 16 yards per target. In those two games, he recorded 10 catches and 188 yards.
Norte Dame will likely try to limit Marvin Harrison Jr's big chances and keep everything in front of them. Giving a lot of underneath opportunities for Stover.
Whatever bets you decide to take in this game, have fun and make the most of it.
Best Bets: Cade Stover Over 27.5 Receiving Yards (-114), Notre Dame +3.5 (previously posted), Sam Hartman Over 240.5 Passing Yards (previously posted), Parlay: Notre Dame +8 & Ole Miss +13 (previously posted)
