Nevada at Notre Dame Week 2 Lines & Expert Pick

For the sake of full disclosure, not many of us (I included) saw that Notre Dame loss to Texas coming. And with that shock double-overtime defeat to the Longhorns, you can kiss goodbye to the Fighting Irish’s chances of making the playoffs this season, especially now that Notre Dame still has to face elite opponents like Mississippi State and Stanford before the end of the season. Fortunately for the Irish, they will be getting a much-needed break when they take on a softer opponent in the Nevada Wolf Pack team this weekend. Here is a brief College Football betting outlook at this game.

Let’s Take a Closer Look at the Nevada at Notre Dame Week 2 Lines, Expert Pick & TV Info

Where: McLane Stadium, Waco, TX When: Saturday, September 10, 3:30 PM ET TV: FS1 NCAA Football Lines: Notre Dame (-28.5), OVER/UNDER 60.5

Why Bet on Nevada?

The Wolf Pack opened their 2016 with a 30-27 win over the FCS’ Cal Poly Mustangs, thoug the victory was largely considered as a disappointment from their fans, as they failed to cover the spread loss as 20.5-point favorites. Getting the ATS win over Notre Dame will even be a bigger challenge, as the Fighting Irish will have revenge in mind after heartlessly dropping their opener to Texas. That said, Nevada has a decent number of talented players like QB Tyler Stewart (who threw for 189 yards and 2 TDs last week) and RB James Butler (who carried the ball 29 times for 123 yards and 2 TDs last week), something that should motivate the visitors for a strong show this Saturday.

Why Bet on Notre Dame?

In spite allowing some cheap early points and eventually losing to Texas, the Notre Dame was quite resilient. Notre Dame’s DeShone Kizer was particularly on top of his game, as he rallied the Irish from a 31-17 deficit in the third quarter and finished the game 215 yards passing and five touchdowns. Sadly, it wasn’t enough, as the QB competition with Malik Zaire unsettled the Fighting Irish’s offensive rhythm. If Notre Dame is to have a complete game, Coach Brian Kelly will need to sort out his quarterback rotation and possibly stick to one starter for consistency. In addition, Notre Dame’s defense—which was gushed for 237 rushing yards and 280 passing yards vs. the Longhorns’ in-transitioning offense (led by a freshman QB in Shane Buechele)—will need to tighten things at that end of the field.

My Expert Pick and Predictions

The lone meeting between Nevada and Notre Dame, as per the NCAA Football betting history, came in 2009, and it ended in a 35-0 shutout win by the Fighting Irish. Nevada has made quite some improvements since that loss, but Notre Dame should still have the upper hand here, thanks to the Irish’s superior offense. Of course, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Nevada plays tough and covers the spread, but with Kelly’s boys looking to get their season on track in a resounding way, my money would be on the Fighting Irish to claim the win plus cover of the spread in a highly-likely high-scoring affair that will predictably take the game’s total OVER 60.5 Predicted Score: Notre Dame 45, Nevada 18 Recommended Pick: OVER 60.5