On Saturday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-1) travel to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies (3-1). The game is set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be held at Lane Stadium. Below, we look at the Notre Dame at Virginia Tech odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Coming off their first loss of the season to top-10 Cincinnati, the Fighting Irish will look to get back on track although, without a conference title to claim, their playoff odds are likely shattered.
On top of that, who knows who Notre Dame will trot out at quarterback after using all three against Cincinnati. Notre Dame did destroy Wisconsin, a team that started the season ranked in the top 25, the prior week.
As for Virginia Tech, it also has an impressive win over North Carolina on its resume. Its only loss was to West Virginia, a program that pushed top-10 Oklahoma to its limit.
This should be a much better game than most expect.
Notre Dame at Virginia Tech odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 1:15 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Notre Dame -108 (bet $108 to win $100) | Virginia Tech -112 (bet $112 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Notre Dame +0.5 (-108) | Virginia Tech -0.5 (-112)
- Over/Under (O/U): 46.5 (O: -117 | U: -103)
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Notre Dame at Virginia Tech odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Virginia Tech 24, Notre Dame 17
Money line
“LEAN” to VIRGINIA TECH (-112) as it has been the more complete side.
Notre Dame is coming off a rough home loss, one in which it got little going offensively. Virginia Tech has given up over 15 points in just one of four games this season, so it should be able to push a slacking Notre Dame offense.
As for the Hokies, they’ve had a relatively consistent offense, scoring between 17 and 35 in all four games.
QB Braxton Burmeister has played well as the undisputed leader of the team. The junior has completed over 60 percent of his attempts this season. Expect a big performance at home.
I’d put just half a unit on the Hokies’ money line as it’s not the absolute best value in this one.
Against the spread
PASS on the spread given it’s the same as the money line, and look towards the above for the best bets.
Over/Under
BET on the UNDER 46.5 (-103) as the absolute best value. Notre Dame played Jack Coan, Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner against the Bearcats. None of the three proved effective.
While the Hokies aren’t Cincinnati, they have limited opponents this season. Virginia Tech ranks in the top-50 programs in opponents’ yards per game. It should be able to limit a sloppy Notre Dame attack.
Tech’s defense shouldn’t allow more than 25 points, and its offense should control the tempo. Unless the Fighting Irish figure it out overnight or Tech’s defense isn’t as for real as they seem, the Under should hit.
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