Notre Dame @ Boston College NCAA Football Lines Preview

Posted by Daniel Strum on Saturday,November 21, 2015 8:48, EDT in

There’s no other way to say it except…DeShone Kizer and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will look to hit a ‘home run’ when they battle the struggling Boston College Eagles at Fenway Park on Saturday. The Irish are looking to avoid a costly college football odds upset against the Eagles and stay on track to reach the four-team College Football Playoff after holding on to their No. 4 ranking in Tuesday’s CFP rankings. Now, let’s find out if Notre Dame can bring home the bacon.

How To Bet the Fighting Irish @ Eagles NCAA Football Odds, TV & Game Info

When: Saturday, November 21, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
TV: NBCSN
NCAAF Odds: Notre Dame -16.5
Over/Under: 42.5

Why Bet on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-1 SU, 7-3 ATS)

Notre Dame has won five consecutive games and put a 28-7 spanking on Wake Forest, in Week 11, though the Irish failed to cover the college football betting line as a 25.5-point home favorite. Dual-threat quarterback DeShone Kizer led the way to victory by passing for 111 yards and adding two rushing touchdowns on 13 carries one week after throwing five TD passes in a rout over Pittsburgh. “We feel pretty good about DeShone’s ability to communicate with us on the sideline and pick things up,” Kelly told reporters. “He’s very smart. And, again, his retention is excellent.”

Ironically, the Demon Deacons outgained the Fighting Irish by 340-282 yards in total offense while racking up 23 first downs to Notre Dame’s 15. Wake Forest even won the time of possession battle by over 11 minutes. However, Notre Dame scored once on a 98-yard touchdown run and once on a 28-yard interception return to get the win. “We just have to be probably a little more aggressive. I thought we were a little conservative at times,” Kelly said Tuesday. “Probably a little more aggressive in the areas where we’ve been pushing the ball vertically.” “It’s that time of the season where each and every week is a refocusing on the attention to really yourself and what you need to do to prepare your football team each and every week,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly told reporters.

Running back C.J. Prosise will be back for the Irish after missing last week’s game. Kelly commented on Notre Dame’s need for Prosise’s big play ability. “They would hope that that’s the way you kind of play the game,” Kelly said. “We’ve got to try to find explosive plays, so that’s why C.J. Prosise needs to be in this game.”

Notre Dame is ranked 28th in scoring (36.2 ppg) and an impressive 31st in points allowed (21.5 ppg).

Why bet on the Boston College Eagles (3-7 SU, 4-5 ATS)

Boston College had to wait a whopping 11 weeks to get a bye, but I’m thinking it won’t matter how well-rested the Eagles are if they can’t put some points on the board against the Irish in this contest. BC has lost six consecutive games including a 24-8 home loss against N.C. State as a 4-point underdog two weeks ago. More importantly, the Eagles have failed to top the 17-point plateau in each of their last six games while averaging a pitiful 9.3 points per game during the stretch.

“We just have to get experience,” Boston College coach Steve Addazio told reporters. “That is really what it is. We’ve tried to simplify, we’ve tried to do everything.” Even in the midst of some pretty immense struggles, Boston College has managed to field one of the best defenses in the nation.

The Eagles are ranked first in total defense, fifth against the pass, first against the run and third in points allowed (14.4 ppg). Unfortunately, Boston College has struggled to score in a big way this season, ranking 121st in points per game (17.3 ppg). “There have been some spurts in both the last two games where you can see things starting to happen,” Addazio told reporters. “We’re not replacing one little piece, we are replacing all the pieces.”

My Expert Game Analysis, Pick & Prediction:

Again, Boston College has averaged less than 10.0 points per game in dropping their last six contests. With that said, let me also say that I’m surprised that ‘only’ 64 percent of the betting public likes Notre Dame to get the home win and accompanying ATS cover because I expect Notre Dame to roll in this mismatch of a matchup.

Boston College is 1-5 ATS in their last five neutral site games and just 1-3-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games. Notre Dame is 6-2 ATS in its last eight games and 5-2 ATS in their last seven games following an SU win. I know BC has gone 4-1 ATS in their last five meetings against the Irish, but the Eagles have struggled to score the ball so much recently that I just don’t think they’ll be able to put enough points on the board to either realistically challenge Notre dame – or cover the spread.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the pick to win and cash in!

My Pick: Notre Dame 28 Boston College 10