The Fighting Irish and Deacs are 1-5 on the year against the spread, so something has to give.
This is supposed to be a Sunday article on Blogger So Dear, but due to the travel schedule of yours truly thanks to Hurricane/Tropical Storm/Tropical Depression Florence, this has become a Tuesday article!
The vaunted Notre Dame Fighting Irish head into Winston-Salem on Saturday to face off against Wake Forest in a noon, ABC kickoff and opened as a 7 point favorite over the Demon Deacons. That line has pushed up a little bit to 7.5 at a few different sites, but overall has not seen a lot of action thus far from what I can tell.
Wake Forest is 0-3 against the spread so far this year, but has missed the three by a combined 5.5 points, while Notre Dame is 1-2 on the year, covering the season opener against Michigan before failing in wins against Ball State and Vanderbilt.
Much like the Tulane and Boston College games I expect this one to be very close to the line and go into the fourth quarter with either team able to win the ballgame. The fast paced offense of Wake Forest could wear down the Notre Dame defense, but the secondary for the Deacs has struggled in the first three games giving up the big play.
If last year’s 48-37 victory for Notre Dame in South Bend last year is any indication then I would suggest taking the over of 60.5, but on the other hand it seems that ND only wins games in the range of 24-17, so choose that at your own peril!
Overall I am excited for the game on Saturday and hope the scattered storm forecast goes away before kickoff. I would expect the line to go up to around double-digits before the sharps drive it back in the 8-8.5 range by noon on gameday.
