College Football: Week 2 Best Bets - Notre Dame at NC State
It’s been a fast start for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, winning their first two games of the season by a combined score of 98-6; granted, they did play weaker competition, but they should be excited for what the season brings. This week, the schedule toughens up as they travel to Raleigh, NC, to take on North Carolina State.
Notre Dame at North Carolina State (Saturday, 12:00 PM ET)
Spread: Notre Dame -7.5 | Total: 51
Odds available on BetMGM Sportsbook
Before I get into which side or total I am betting for this game, just know that I will likely be betting on Audric Estime’s rushing over once the sportsbooks release player props. That dude runs angry and is a great spot to have another 90+ rushing outing.
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I am betting on Notre Dame -7.5 (-110) in this game. When I backed the Fighting Irish -20.5 against Navy, it was because of the massive advantage in the trenches. They should have that same advantage again this week against North Carolina State. A North Carolina State team that allowed UConn to run on them for 160 yards.
If UConn can have that kind of success, the Notre Dame offensive line led by Joe Alt should get a similar push from and control the game on the ground. The issue for North Carolina State is they cannot load the box with Sam Hartman under center.
In limited action, Hartman has looked like the missing piece to the puzzle for Notre Dame, which is a massive advantage over NC State’s quarterback Brennan Armstrong. Call me a hater, but I’ve never once looked at a game Armstrong has been under center and said, “I’m taking this team to cover because Armstrong is the quarterback.”
That’s probably why it looked like the Wolfpack had the training wheels on against UConn. When Robert Anae was asked what he’d like to see improve after their last game, he answered with one word, “Explosive.” I don’t see that change happening this week.
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This match will be won in the trenches. Notre Dame should be more physically imposing and control the game at the line of scrimmage. This will allow them to open the game up through the air with big-arm quarterback Hartman, leading to the Irish cover.
For the crowd that loves trends, since 2014, Notre Dame is 7-4 ATS as a road favorite, with an average margin of victory of 16.9. Hopefully, that should help tuck you in at night before you wake up on Saturday morning and prepare for battle with our college football bets!
Best Bet: Notre Dame -7.5 (-110)
