The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0, 7-0 ACC) visit the North Carolina Tar Heels (6-2, 6-2) Friday for a 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Below, we give you five college football prop bet predictions for Notre Dame-North Carolina from the BetMGM game menu.
Also see: Notre Dame at North Carolina odds, picks and prediction
Notre Dame at North Carolina prop bet predictions
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:40 a.m. ET.
Notre Dame -3 1st half spread (-121)
In the previous four games, three of which have been played on the road, the Irish have outscored their opponents 34-20 in the first quarter; however, by halftime they have outscored those opponents 99-39, so the second quarter is when the fireworks really start for QB Ian Book and the Irish.
Notre Dame total points OVER 34.5 (-182)
The juice is a little steep on this prop, but North Carolina doles out points like Oprah giving away cars. “You get a touchdown! You get a touchdown! Everyone gets a touchdown!” Carolina has allowed 30.8 points per game, which doesn’t seem too terrible, but they’re coming off a 59-53 win over Wake Forest on Nov. 14, a game which resembled a video game, and the Tar Heels have allowed 53, 24, 55, 21, 31 and 45 across their past six games.
The Tar Heels also aren’t very good against the pass, allowing 261.8 passing yards per game to rank 92nd in the nation, so look for Book to throw it at them early and often.
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Notre Dame -0.5 1st quarter spread (-125)
I am not as high on this particular prop as the first-half spread, only because the game is at Kenan in Chapel Hill, and the UNC offense can score, too.
Over the past four games, Notre Dame has been tied once after one quarter, while leading the other three by an average of 4.7 PPG. As such, they should have some sort of a lead after 15 minutes.
OVER 14 – 1st quarter total (-139)
These are two high-octane offenses, and a total of 14 points after 15 minutes seems like a great play. North Carolina is averaging 13.8 PPG across the past four outings in the first quarter alone, so the Irish certainly can roll up the points. And yes, Notre Dame isn’t Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia or NC State, the teams UNC was getting off to fast starts against.
The Tar Heels should be able to get on the board, with the Irish also piling up the points early on.
Alternate spread: Notre Dame -8 (+125)
I don’t feel very good about the chances of North Carolina to hang with Notre Dame for a full 60 minutes. Yes, it’s a home game for UNC, but the state is pretty much on lockdown, and there will be no fans in attendance to make a difference.
I think the Tar Heels can hang right in there with the Irish for 45 minutes, but they’re not quite who we thought they were. The Florida State loss really changed the opinion of many about this UNC team, and it hasn’t done a lot to change that perception. Yes, the Heels have a solid offense, but that D cannot stop anyone and has been their undoing.
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