The Notre Dame Fighting Irish look to be a formidable team fighting for a berth in the College Football Playoff. Playing on the road for just the second time this season, the Irish entered a hostile environment against Virginia Tech and took down the No. 24 Hokies, 45-23, by pulling away in the second half. Notre Dame has been vastly improved offensively since Ian Book took over as the starting quarterback. In his three starts the Irish are averaging 23 points more per game than they scored in the first three outings with Brandon Wimbush at the helm. And they’ve played over the total while covering the spread in all three.
Watch this Week 7 matchup live on Saturday, October 13, 2018, at 2:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Pittsburgh Panthers +20.5
Notre Dame Fighting Irish -20.5
Over/Under 57
After a pair of wins over ranked opponents, this could be a prime letdown spot for Notre Dame. Two weeks ago the Irish dropped the hammer on No. 7 Stanford with a convincing 38-17 victory. A trip to Blacksburg last week was the biggest challenge for Notre Dame. Playing their second road game of the season, the Irish used a second half rally to put the No. 24 Hokies away 45-23. With Pitt, Navy and Northwestern the next three on the schedule, beating VT was a must for Notre Dame to keep its playoff hopes alive.
With Book running the offense, the Irish have looked like a different team. Sure, Wimbush directed them to a win over Michigan in the opener, but he was inconsistent and the offense struggled to consistently move and score the football. Once Book was inserted, things changed. He’s thrown for at least 271 yards in each of his three starts with a season-best 325 against Wake Forest, and he’s tossed eight touchdowns against just one interception in those three games.
The Irish have scored an average of 46.3 points in Book’s three starts compared to just 23.3 points per outing in the first three games under Wimbush. Book has proven to be capable dual-threat option as well. He’s rushed for 84 yards and three touchdowns in his three starts. The total opened at 57 for this game and the only question is whether or not the Panthers will score enough to challenge the total.
Bettors can check the adjusted spread and total on the live betting feature at BookMaker.eu and look for the Irish to get enough points to exceed their total behind the stellar play of their QB. You can also bet Book will throw for at least one touchdown.
Playing in just the last two games, Dexter Williams has taken over the team lead in rushing yards. Williams had an electrifying 97-yard touchdown run at VT and totaled 178 yards on 17 carries with three scores. That effort came a week after he debuted with 161 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries against Stanford.
Going against Pitt’s defense that ranks 104th in the FBS against the run is a mismatch. Watch for Williams to run free again. He will go over his prop bet total for rushing yards and is a good candidate to score the game’s first touchdown on the in-game betting feature at BookMaker.eu.
Pitt had success running the football last week, getting 192 yards from Qadree Ollison and 107 from Darrin Hall in an overtime win over Syracuse that ended a two-game losing streak. Running the football is about the only thing Pitt does well on offense and that aspect of their game is going to be severely impacted by Notre Dame’s stout run defense. The Irish will key on stopping the run and they will keep the Panthers below their projected total on a prop bet at BookMaker.
Pittsburgh at Notre Dame Live Betting
If this game is remotely close heading into the second half, start backing the Irish on the live betting feature. Since Book took over, Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 73-24 in the second half of games to easily pull away and cover the spread in all three games. The Irish beat Wake Forest by 29, Stanford by 21 and VT by 22 points.
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