The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0) and No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1) will meet in a College Football Playoff semifinal Friday at 4 p.m. ET. While the game is still being called the Rose Bowl, it will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. It was moved from Pasadena due to the high number of COVID-19 cases in the Los Angeles area and because of the ban on fans at sporting events in California. Below, we analyze Alabama-Notre Dame college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Alabama is No. 1 in the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports, while Notre Dame is No. 4.
Alabama vs. Notre Dame: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:43 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Alabama -1200 (bet $1,200 to win $100) | Notre Dame +750 (bet $100 to win $750)
- Against the spread/ATS: Alabama -20 (-110) | Notre Dame +20 (-110)
- Over/Under: 65.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Alabama vs. Notre Dame: Three things to know
- Alabama returns to the College Football Playoff (CFP) after missing it for the first time last season since its inception in 2015. The Tide, who are 12-5 in bowl games under head coach Nick Saban, are coming off a 52-46 victory over Florida in the SEC Championship Game. QB Mac Jones finished second in the country with 3,739 passing yards, while throwing 32 touchdowns. WR DeVonta Smith – BetMGM‘s favorite to win the Heisman Trophy at -200 – caught 17 TDs and led all wideouts with 1,511 receiving yards. RB Najee Harris scored an NCAA-best 24 rushing touchdowns and ranked third with 1,262 rushing yards.
- Notre Dame will be making its second CFP appearance – the first was a 30-3 semifinal loss to Clemson in the Sugar Bowl two seasons ago. Speaking of Clemson, these Irish are coming off a 34-10 ACC Championship Game loss to the No. 2 Tigers, snapping a 16-game win streak. They beat then-No. 1 Clemson earlier in the season 47-40 in double overtime in South Bend, but the Tigers were without QB Trevor Lawrence in that first meeting. For the season, Notre Dame QB Ian Book has 2,600 passing yards with 15 TDs, while running for 430 yards and 5 scores. The ground game is led by RB Kyren Williams, who ran for 1,061 yards with 12 TDs, while WRs Javon McKinley (697 receiving yards, 3 TDs) and Ben Skowronek (398, 5) were Book’s top targets. The Irish are 5-4 in bowl games under head coach Brian Kelly.
- Notre Dame leads the all-time series vs. Alabama 5-2, but the Tide took the last matchup with a 42-14 rout in the BCS National Championship Game Jan. 7, 2013.
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Alabama vs. Notre Dame: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Alabama 37, Notre Dame 21
Money line (ML)
PASS. Alabama (-1200) will advance to the Championship Game, but there’s no way you should risk 12 times your potential investment.
Against the spread (ATS)
NOTRE DAME +20 (-110) is the STRONGEST PLAY – 1½ times your usual wager. Kelly will have the Irish ready to play, and QB Book is too good of a leader to allow the Irish to get embarrassed. Sure, they didn’t look good in the ACC title game, but Clemson had a little bit extra motivation, looking to avenge the regular-season loss.
The Irish will have the “motivation” factor working for them in this one.
ATS records: Alabama 8-3 | Notre Dame 5-6
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 65.5 (-105) is the play. It’s no secret that Alabama is a juggernaut on offense. It ranks second in scoring (49.7 PPG) and fifth in total yards (543.9 YPG), but the Irish defense will be the best the Crimson Tide faces this season. The Irish D allowed just 18.6 PPG. The Tide will score, but don’t expect them to put up 40 points.
O/U records: Alabama 7-4 | Notre Dame 6-5
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
| Johnny’s 2020 CFB record / Strongest plays | 17-16 / 9-6 |
| 2020 overall record (all sports) | 175-146-4 |
| Strongest plays (all sports) | 86-60-1 |
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