The Notre Dame Fighting Irish did their job last week, beating Navy to remain undefeated. It’s a bit of a competitive mismatch, but the team that was supposed to win, won. Meanwhile, the Northwestern Wildcats upset Wisconsin, winning their fourth straight game. The Wildcats remain outside the top-25 but garnered some attention in beating the Badgers and are playing excellent football right now. Notre Dame and Northwestern are set to meet up this coming Saturday with the Irish needing to remain undefeated and the Wildcats looking for another, bigger, upset.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Northwestern Wildcats
Date and Time:Saturday, November 3, 2018, 7:15 p.m. ET
Location:Ryan Field, Evanston, IL
Opening CFB Odds:Notre Dame -8, O/U TBD
Notre Dame vs. Northwestern TV Coverage:ESPN
Northwestern’s season started off poorly. Following a win over Purdue in Week 1, the Wildcats went on to lose games to both Duke and Akron before a much more promising loss to Michigan in the final weekend of September.
The Wildcats played Michigan tough in that game. They easily covered the spread, but nearly got the win, too. Northwestern got out to a 17-0 led before eventually falling 20-17 thanks to 20 unanswered points.
While Northwestern took the loss, they also took a noticeable step forward. They won their next four games to improve back to 5-3, they’re 4-3-1 ATS. Most recently, the Wildcats entered a home game against the Wisconsin Badgers as 3.5-point underdogs and came away as 14-point winners.
The strength of this Northwestern team is on defense. The team allowed 31 points in overtime to Nebraska earlier this month, but they’ve allowed 20 or fewer points in four of their last five games.
Offensively, this Wildcat team has been prone to some key mistakes, but it’s been developing and getting better.
The running game is key. As team, Northwestern is averaging just 91.1 rushing yards per game, ranking amongst the worst teams in that category in college football. The Wildcats, however, rushed for 182 yards in their last game. Isaiah Browser is the key. He rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown. He had 108 yards and two scores against Rutgers the game before. Before those two games, Browser only had two touches on the year.
Thanks in part to Browser, the Northwestern rushing attack is improving, and you can exploit that on the live betting lines at BookMaker.eu.
The Wildcats’ passing game has been okay this year based on the numbers, at least on passing yards per game, but the turnovers have plagued Clayton Thorson. Northwestern beat Wisconsin despite him after he completed just 56.7-percent of his passes while throwing three interceptions and just one touchdown.
Thorson has thrown seven interceptions during the team’s four game winning streak. It’s hard to see Northwestern getting the upset—or even keeping the game close—if the Wildcats are giving Notre Dame too many turnovers. Keep an early eye on Thorson’s accuracy and whether he’s living dangerously.
Turnovers or not, Notre Dame can score. The team put up 44 on Navy this past week as the Midshipmen were unable to control the clock well enough to keep the Fighting Irish’s offense at bay.
The Irish’s offensive attack is quite balanced. This team can move the ball in the air and on the ground.
Ian Book has been exceptional the last two starts, posting completion percentages in the 80s both weeks while tallying a combined 594 yards. Book took over the offense in Week 4 and that’s really when Notre Dame took off. Book’s thrown 13 touchdowns to just four interceptions and has been solid on the ground, too, helping the run game which is already doing well with Dexter Williams, Jafar Armstrong and Tony Jones Jr.
Book is an excellent passer and solid runner. He’s got running options around him and a slew of quality receivers. Miles Boykin has been a favorite and has the height and reach to benefit him over smaller corners, but this is a team filled with solid route runners.
Live Bet Notre Dame vs. Northwestern at BookMaker.eu
Notre Dame has owned the historic series between these programs, but it’s Northwestern who won the last time they met. That, however, four years ago and was a bit of a shootout. This time around, it should be a lower scoring game.
The Irish have had a great season to this point and while their latest win was impressive, four of their wins have come by single points. The Wildcats are inconsistent but have been playing great in a four-game winning streak. If this game starts off as physical as it looks like it’ll be on paper, go hard after the Wildcats in the live betting adjusted lines at BookMaker.eu.
