It’s the dawn of a new era in college football with the expanded College Football Playoff getting started on Friday, Dec. 20 with a first-round matchup between the Indiana Hoosiers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The game kicks off at 8 p.m. ET from Notre Dame Stadium and will air on ABC/ESPN. Both teams finished the regular season with identical 11-1 records, but the Irish got a higher seed blowing out every opponent during a 10-game winning streak. They tried to make everyone forget about that Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois, but it didn’t work for the committee, who gave Notre Dame the No. 7 seed. Odds at the Crypto Sportsbook have the Irish as a 7.5-point favorite over the surprising Hoosiers, who lost to Ohio State, 38-15, in Week 13.
College Football Betting Lines
CFP First Round Betting Odds
Indiana Hoosiers +7.5 / ML +245
Notre Dame Fighting Irish -7.5 / ML -288
Over / Under 51
If you listen to some of the so-called experts Indiana shouldn’t even be in the CFP. After the season they had, though, you can’t keep them out. They don’t have the history on the gridiron of Notre Dame and probably any other team in the playoff, but the tournament isn’t about what teams have done in the past rather what they’ve accomplished this season. And the Hoosiers were pretty special setting a program record for wins while staying in the thick of the Big Ten race until losing at Ohio State.
One thing that can hurt a team like Notre Dame, which is a big favorite, is looking past their opponent. They vowed not to do that after getting upset by NIU early in the season. The Irish definitely lived up to their word extinguishing their last 10 opponents while covering six straight spreads that were 14-points or more.
Riley Leonard and the offense were nearly unstoppable following the 16-14 loss to NIU. They scored at least 28 points in every game of their winning streak, tallied more than 50 points three times and closed the year with back-to-back 49-point games in wins over Army and USC. Leonard threw for 2,092 yards with 16 touchdowns and only five picks. But the Irish are more about running the football and they’ll try and have success against the best run defense in the FBS.
Leonard did some damage with his arm and he’s one of three Irish players with more than 650 rushing yards. Jeremiyah Love is the featured runner compiling 949 yards and 7.1 yards per carry along with 15 rushing TDs. Leonard has 721 rushing yards and 14 TDs while Jadarian price chipped in 651 yards and 7.3 yards per attempt with seven TDs.
The Indiana schedule will come into question. But at least they didn’t lose a game when favored by four touchdowns. IU’s lone setback came on the road at Ohio State when the offense got shutdown. The Hoosiers were a 10.5-point underdog in that matchup. They bounced back from that loss with a dominant 66-0 win over Purdue to close the regular season. Like he’s done all season Kurtis Rourke spearheaded the offense throwing for 349 yards and six TDs. The Hoosiers totaled 582 yards and held the Boilermakers to just 67 yards.
Notre Dame also had a field day against Purdue winning their matchup 66-7 in Week 3. The Irish didn’t get the shutout but they had a strong defensive showing like they’ve had all season. They rank third against the pass and ninth in total defense while allowing the third-fewest points in FBS. We saw Indiana struggle to move the football against an aggressive Ohio State defense and I think they’ve learned a lesson on how to attack a group that likes to over pursue. I like Indiana in this matchup playing like they have nothing to lose. And Notre Dame’s slate had some big names of school’s that had down years. The total seems high especially with strength against strength, so I’m backing the UNDER and the points on my college football same game parlay.
Indiana at Notre Dame Same Game Parlay Picks
Indiana +7.5
Indiana / Notre Dame UNDER 51
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