Week 11 College Football Free Picks: Army Vs Notre Dame

While not considered one of the fiercest rivalries in the college football world, there is something a little special about match-ups between the Army Black Knights and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Perhaps it’s because their first meeting dates all the way back to 1913, or maybe it’s because when they meet now, it’s usually in cool places. The last time these two hooked up was in 2010, with that game played at Yankee Stadium. This time around, they will be heading to Texas to lock horns at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio. The 3-6 Fighting Irish will be looking to avoid another loss to a service academy team after going down 28-27 to the Navy Midshipmen last weekend. This has been a disastrous year for the Irish, and they are now just looking to save face before the season ends. The 5-4 Army Black Knights have been inconsistent all year, and fell to Air Force last week. The Fighting Irish are coming into this one as a 13.5-point online betting favorite.

Analyzing The Week 11 College Football Free Picks: Black Knights Vs Fighting Irish

When: Saturday, November 12 at 3:30 PM EST Where: Alamo Dome, San Antonio TV: NBC Live Stream: NBC Sports Live NCAAF Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Army Black Knights

Army may have a winning record this season, but they have history going against them this weekend. You need to go back to 1958 to find the last time they beat the Irish, and they have lost 14 straight meetings since that win, with only one of those losses being what you would call competitive. This may lead you to take Notre Dame on a winning ticket, but you also should consider how poorly they have played this season. You also need to remember that in games played on a neutral site venue over the last 3 seasons, the Army Black Knights are 3-0 ATS. This is not to suggest that Army are on the brink of an upset, but they may just be able to keep things close.

Why bet on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Despite their troubles this season, I think it’s still fair to say that the Irish should be able to come away with the win here. Army have no real aerial threat to speak of, so you know that they are going to try and pound the ball on the ground, and that is an area where Notre Dame have struggled at times this season. Notre Dame have gone 6-2 SU in neutral field games over the past 3 seasons, but are just 3-5 ATS in those games. November games have also not been kind to Notre Dame ATS in the past 3 seasons, as they are a rather miserable 2-8 in those games.

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

This one may be coming back to bit me in the behind given how the previous meetings have gone between these two, but I think that the Black Knights can keep it close. I am looking at the Irish to win this game by 10 points or so.

Army Black Knights 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish 27