Notre Dame at Michigan Predictions

September 11, 2009

Even though there is a huge game this week taking place, doesn’t mean that all eyes should be focuses there. USC travels to Ohio State to face off against the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe, so there will be enough coverage of this Top-10 collision. Get your $500 match bonus exclusive for our readers when you visit BetUS!

Even with that game on the board, we’re going to focus on another important contest, our matchup of the week is Notre Dame taking on the Michigan Wolverines. Both the Irish and the Wolverines looked great in their first games of the season, and now the pressure is on for the two prestigious programs to see which can avoid a costly early season loss.

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis probably couldn’t have demanded a better start to the season last week against Nevada. Of course, Nevada couldn’t muster a score of any kind throughout the game, but it was the uniform and deadly aerial attack that flourished under quarterback Jimmy Clausen. The junior, who is ready to be the standout player he was prospected to be threw for 315 yards on 15-of-18 and four touchdowns. His receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate look to be a fairly energizing pair, while tight end Kyle Rudolph has all the physical tools to dominate at both catching passes and blocking. The ground game, however, still appears shady, and 178 yards via the run against a wobbly Wolf Pack defense still doesn’t prove much. Still, Notre Dame was able to cover as 14.5-point chalk on their home field.

The Wolverines, just the same, suprised their audience, but it was the new faces that did the most to charm the attention of the U of M sponsors. True freshman quarterback Tate Forcier threw three scores and conducted the offense for the majority of the contest, not producing any mistakes. Another rising star coming on strong is the speed merchant Denard Robinson, who got some headlines in the preseason for not tying his shoes when playing. Seemingly he doesn’t need to, as a outstanding 43-yard dash to hit pay dirt proved he knows exactly how to make things happen when he gets the ball. Similar to Notre Dame, Michigan covered the spread, as a 31-7 triumph surpassed the 13 points they laid at home to Western Michigan.

Now on to this matchup. And the deciding component with two offenses that seem capable of scoring points should be the defenses and which outfit is more effective when called upon. Personally, even though I’m a Michigan fan, the Wolverines have a faster and stronger defensive unit. I think they will be able to get in the backfield, and the secondary looks more able to slow down the passing game. And that will be the test, as Weis will surely make a firm choice to go down the field and see how capable Clausen can be in torching the back four of Michigan for some yards through the air.

Notre Dame comes in as 3.5-point road chalk. However the football odds can be found at a field goal if you shop around. I would think keep steady between 3 and 3.5, and that could be key, as I see a back-and-forth game all day in Ann Arbor. The dog has profited all but two of the previous 10 encounters in this series, but the Irish are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 against Michigan. The Irish’s last win in Michigan was in 2005, and U of M has won four of the previous five in the Big House over Notre Dame. No total has been published yet, but if I had to throw out a guess, I would estimate around 44 or 45.

Related posts:

  1. Free Sports Picks: USC at Notre Dame
  2. 2006 Irish Not Smiling
  3. 2006 NotreDame MichiganSt
  4. Free College Football Picks 11/22/08
  5. 2006 Heisman Odds

Written by Jack Jones · Filed Under College Football 

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