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There is just one scheduled college football game on a Sunday night this season, and it’s this Sunday as No. 9 Notre Dame opens at unranked Florida State on the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Irish are solid favorites on the NCAAF odds.

How to Bet Notre Dame at Florida State NCAA Football Odds & TV Info

When: Sunday, 7:30 PM ET
Where: Doak Campbell Stadium
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN app
Radio: Tunein.com
Opening NCAAF Lines: Notre Dame -7.5 (total 55)

Last Meeting

Notre Dame played last year as a full ACC member and beat Florida State 42-26 in South Bend. Kyren Williams had a career day for the Irish with 185 rushing yards on 19 carries with two rushing touchdowns. It was the most rushing yards by an Irish player since 2018. Chris Tyree added 103 yards rushing on 11 carries. Williams and Tyree averaged over nine yards per carry. Ian Book was 16-for-25 for 201 yards while adding 58 yards on the ground. He recorded three touchdowns on the night, one on the ground and two through the air. The Seminoles threatened on their first drive of the fourth quarter, but Notre Dame’s defense shut the door via a Shaun Crawford interception in the end zone, returning it 23 yards. That essentially ended things.

Why Bet on Notre Dame?

Four-year starting QB Ian Book is now in the NFL, and Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan has won the starting job. Coan started in 2019 for Wisconsin and threw for 2,727 yards, 18 touchdowns and five interceptions. He led the Badgers to a 10-4 record, which included a trip to the Big Ten Championship game with a loss to Ohio State and a Rose Bowl berth against Oregon. He suffered an injury to his foot last season and lost his starting job to Graham Mertz. Coan thus decided to transfer. During his time with the Badgers, he played in 25 games while making 18 starts. He finished his Badger career ranked third all-time in completion percentage (68.0%) and third in pass efficiency rating (144.7) all-time and held a 12-6 record.

Led by the 2020 Second Team All-American and ACC Rookie of the Year Kyren Williams, the Irish return 2,010 rushing yards from last year. Chris Tyree and C’Bo Flemister round out the running back group returning and the trio all had at least one 100-yard rushing game in 2020. The Irish were one of three Power 5 teams to have 100-yard rushing performances from three or more players.

Since the start of 2018, Notre Dame is 33-5 (.868). That rate ranks fourth among all teams who have made an appearance in the College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014. Among those teams, Notre Dame is one of just four teams that have totaled five or fewer losses (Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State) since the start of 2018.

Notre Dame has won 19 consecutive-regular season games against ACC opponents. Its last defeat against an ACC foe in the regular season came back in 2017 against Miami. Of those 19 wins, 15 were won by 10 points or more.

The Irish are 108-17-5 (.850) in season openers, with victories in 28 of the last 34. They are 25-5-2 in true road games to open the season. The last time the Irish started on the road to begin the season, they defeated Louisville, 35-17, to open the 2019 campaign. Since 1958, the Irish are 37-4 (.902) in the season opener when scoring first, while they are 14-6 when the opponent registers the first score.

Why Bet on Florida State?

The big question for the Seminoles is at quarterback. FSU coach Mike Norvell announced he will not publicly name the starter until right before the game. Jordan Travis, the redshirt sophomore, started five games a season ago despite dealing with various injuries. When healthy, he provides a dynamic dual-threat weapon. UCF transfer McKenzie Milton was the most high-profile recruit of the Seminoles’ 2021 transfer class. He has totaled 9,761 yards and 92 total touchdowns in his college career. He was one of the best quarterbacks in the country before sustaining a devastating injury in the 2018 season.

Throughout the preseason, Travis and Milton have split the majority of the first-team reps. In some ways, their skill-sets are quite similar.

“We’re going to continue to go through the process. It’ll be revealed when whoever runs out on the field on Sunday night,” Norvell said. “Like I said at the beginning of this, (the team) will know. We’re excited about the quarterback room, the opportunity that’s ahead for us. Those guys have competed really well. Excited about what we’ve seen.”

The season opener will be FSU’s first football game on a Sunday in school history. FSU is 30-10 (.750) all-time when opening the season at home, including an 18-4 (.818) mark since 1975. Overall, the Seminoles are 54-20 (.730) in season openers.

After having the youngest team in college football last season with freshmen and sophomores making up 75 percent of the roster, Florida State added 13 transfers with a combined 309 games of collegiate experience. FSU’s 13 transfers have recorded 1,677 rushing yards, 25 rushing touchdowns, 630 completions, 8,683 passing yards, 72 passing touchdowns, 102 receptions, 1,106 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns, 590 tackles, 61.0 tackles for loss, 35.0 sacks, 43 quarterback hurries, 32 pass breakups, eight forced fumbles, three interceptions and two fumble recoveries.

FSU leads the all-time series with Notre Dame 6-4 (.600), including a 4-1 mark (.800) in the state of Florida. The teams have split their two matchups in Tallahassee, with the most recent coming in 2014, when No. 2 Florida State defeated the 5th-ranked Fighting Irish 31-27.