The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0 overall, 7-0 ACC) visit the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-2, 6-2) Friday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Below, we analyze the Notre Dame-North Carolina college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Fighting Irish are No. 2 and the Tar Heels are ranked No. 23 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Notre Dame at North Carolina: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Notre Dame -218 (bet $218 to win $100) | North Carolina +175 (bet $100 to win $175)
- Against the spread/ATS: Notre Dame -5.5 (-115) | North Carolina +5.5 (-106)
- Over/Under: 66.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Notre Dame at North Carolina: Three things to know
- Notre Dame avoided the “letdown” game, winning at Boston College 45-31 (as a 13-point favorite) last week, seven days after knocking off then-No. 1 Clemson 47-40 in overtime. QB Ian Book completed 20 of 27 passes for 283 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions vs. BC as Notre Dame racked up a season-high 557 total yards. Book also had 85 rushing yards with a score. The Irish will be without two starting offensive linemen vs. the Tar Heels: C Jarrett Patterson (season-ending foot surgery) and RG Tommy Kraemer (appendectomy). With Syracuse (1-8) and Wake Forest (4-3) left on the regular-season schedule, UNC is the last road bump for Notre Dame until the ACC Championship Game.
- North Carolina might have been looking ahead last week when it had to rally from a third-quarter, 21-point deficit to beat Wake Forest 59-53 at home. The Tar Heels outscored the Demon Deacons 28-8 in the fourth quarter, scoring the go-ahead TD with 4:11 to go. QB Sam Howell finished with 550 passing yards and 6 TDs, both program records, while the Heels’ 742 total yards were also a school record. RB Javonte Williams leads the country with 18 TDs (15 rushing, 3 receiving) and ranks seventh with 868 rushing yards. WR Dyami Brown is seventh in the country with 829 receiving yards (with 8 TDs).
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series 18-2, including wins in the last two – most recently, 33-10 at UNC in 2017. The Heels won 29-24 at home in 2008, but they were the ranked team. Prior to that, the Irish rolled off six in a row between 1962-2006.
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Notre Dame at North Carolina: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Notre Dame 35, North Carolina 20
Money line (ML)
PASS. The Irish (-218) are the much better team, but I’m not going to suggest risking two times your potential return.
Against the spread (ATS)
NOTRE DAME -5.5 (-115) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1½ times your usual wager. North Carolina’s offense, which ranks fourth in the country with 563.4 yards per game, hasn’t seen a defense like Notre Dame. It’s a defense that ranks ninth in the country, allowing just 304.1 YPG. Head coach Brian Kelly will have the Irish focused, knowing a slip-up here would likely keep them out of the College Football Playoff.
Over/Under (O/U)
Back the UNDER 66.5 (-110), which is too high a total. It’s basically based on UNC’s offense, which ranks 10th in the nation by scoring 43.1 points per game. Again, Notre Dame’s defense, which is yielding 16.6 PPG to rank 11th, will take care of business.
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| Johnny’s 2020 CFB record / Strongest plays | 13-14 / 7-5 |
| 2020 overall record (all sports) | 146-111-3 |
| Strongest plays (all sports) | 72-42-1 |
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