I don’t want to say for sure that No. 6 Notre Dame will reach the College Football Playoff if the Irish win at No. 24 Virginia Tech on Saturday night … but they probably will because they should be favored in every game the rest of the way. Notre Dame is also an NCAAF lines favorite in Blacksburg.
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech NCAA Football Week 6 Odds & Pick
Ian Book is the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week for his performance against Stanford.#GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/Fogs7znBK2
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) 3 de octubre de 2018
- When: Saturday, 8 PM ET
- Where: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg
- TV: ABC
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: TuneIn
- Opening NCAA Football Week 6 Lines: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -6.5 (Total 57)
Vanderbilt at Georgia NCAA Football Week 6 Spread & Pick
Weather Forecast
- Partly Cloudy: 21°C/69°F
- Humidity: 96%
- Precipitation: 10%
- Cloud Cover: 35%
- Wind: 2 mph ESE
- Stadium Type: Open
Last Meeting
In 2016, the Irish lost 34-31 at home to Virginia Tech, but that Notre Dame team was awful and finished 4-8. The Hokies fell behind by 17 points early and trailed by 10 to start the fourth quarter, but Jerod Evans guided them to a touchdown and a pair of field goals by Joey Slye in the quarter to beat Notre Dame. Evans threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another in intermittent snow and 20 mph winds. Evans is long gone.
After giving up 299 yards in total offense, the Hokies held the Irish to 150 yards in the second half — with 67 yards of that came on a touchdown run by Josh Adams that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 31-21 and 57 coming on the final drive of the game.
This will be Notre Dame’s first-ever game in Blacksburg as that 2016 meeting was the first between the schools.
Why Bet on Notre Dame?
The Irish were hugely impressive last week in a 38-17 win over No. 7 Stanford to end a three-game skid in the series. Junior quarterback Ian Book went 24-of-33 for 278 yards with four touchdowns. Eleven of those completions went to senior wide receiver Miles Boykin, who turned them into 144 yards and a touchdown. Senior running back Dexter Williams paced the Irish ground game with 161 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He had been suspended the first four games.
The Notre Dame defense was led by senior defensive tackle Jerry Tillery, who tied a program record with four sacks. Senior linebacker Te’von Coney notched a team-high seven tackles to go with a key fourth-quarter interception. In total, Notre Dame outgained Stanford 550-229, including a 272-55 advantage on the ground. The Irish also managed to earn 29 first downs while limiting the Cardinal to 10.
Book became the fifth Notre Dame quarterback since 2005 to account for nine total touchdowns (passing and rushing) over consecutive starts with his four touchdown passes against Stanford.
Notre Dame won for the seventh time when entering a top-10 matchup at Notre Dame Stadium as the team with the lower ranking after the No. 8 Irish dispatched of No. 7 Stanford. Notre Dame now holds all five of the competitive trophies (Frank Leahy Bowl-Boston College, Megaphone Trophy-Michigan State, Shillelagh Trophy-Purdue, Legends Trophy-Stanford, Jeweled Shillelagh-USC) for the first time since 2012.
Notre Dame is off to its third 5-0 start under head coach Brian Kelly in the last nine seasons (2012*, 2014 and 2018). The Irish are the only team in FBS football to earn two victories over opponents ranked in the national top 15 after five weeks (No. 7 Stanford, No. 14 Michigan).
One piece of bad news: standout offensive lineman Alex Bars will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a knee injury in Saturday’s win over Stanford.
Why Bet on Virginia Tech?
The Hokies were shocked two weeks ago at Old Dominion and lost starting quarterback Josh Jackson to a season-ending injury. Last week, they bounced back with a 31-14 win at No. 22 Duke. Ryan Willis threw for 332 yards and a career-best three touchdowns in his first start for the Hokies. He was named ACC Player of the Week.
Willis, a transfer from Kansas taking over for the injured Jackson, was 17 of 27 with a 27-yard TD pass to Damon Hazelton, a 67-yard catch-and-run score to Dalton Keene and a game-sealing 10-yarder to Phil Patterson to help Tech steer way clear of its first loss in Durham since 1981. Tech has won 22 straight games when holding foes to 21 points or fewer.
Tech owns four victories against ranked opponents under head coach Justin Fuente but is seeking its first win against a Top 25 foe at Lane Stadium since Frank Beamer led the Hokies to a 31-7 win vs. No. 9 Miami (9/26/09). The Hokies are also seeking to knock off AP Top 25 teams in consecutive games for the first time since getting a 16-15 win at No. 19 Nebraska (9/19/09) and that victory vs. No. 9 Miami (9/26/09).
Virginia Tech is 5-0 at Lane Stadium vs. non-conference foes under Fuente, outscoring those foes by a 217-47 margin. Virginia Tech is 51-16-2 against teams playing in their first game at Lane Stadium since the building’s first season in 1965. Of the last 10 Lane Stadium rookies, No. 8 Ohio State was the only one to have won in their Blacksburg debut.
Alabama vs Arkansas NCAA Football Week 6 Lines & Preview
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech NCAAF Week 6 Betting Trends
- Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record
- Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win
- Hokies are 11-4 ATS in their last 15 home games
- Hokies are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 non-conference games
- Notre Dame is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Notre Dame’s last 6 games
- Virginia Tech is 13-5 SU in its last 18 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Virginia Tech’s last 7 games
Expert Prediction for Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech
I like the Hokies not to just win but pull the upset – but obviously, take the points!
