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The best game of the college football weekend will come early when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Wisconsin Badgers meet on a neutral field on Saturday, September 25th. The game will get started at noon ET from Soldier Field in Chicago and can be seen on FOX. With a game of this magnitude, plenty of bettors will get in on the action.
Below is a look at where the lines currently stand and what bettors are doing with their money. All odds and info are provided by DraftKings Sportsbook.
Point Spread
Oddsmakers are listing Wisconsin as 6.5-point favorites heading into Saturday, but the money is coming in on the underdog. Bettors are taking the Fighting Irish with 68% of the handle and 68% of bets.
Is the public right?
The most obvious storyline of this game is Notre Dame quarterback Jack Coan going up against his former team. Wisconsin bet on potential with a young Graham Mertz over proven production at the college level, and Coan could get his revenge here. He is a solid quarterback who doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, while Mertz has struggled against quality defenses over his nine starts. Notre Dame’s quarterback advantage is enough to side with the public and take the underdog with the points.
Point Total
Oddsmakers set the over/under at 45 and while 52% of bets are going toward the over, bigger bets are coming in on the under, which has 72% of the handle.
Is the public right?
We know Wisconsin will run the ball a ton because it’s Wisconsin, and the Badgers led the country time of possession each of the last two seasons with long drives. Guess where they’re ranked in that category early in 2021. You guessed it - first. The Badgers have an elite defense against the run, and Notre Dame’s biggest weakness is on the offensive line. A nicer bet might be taking the first half under because I can definitely see a scenario where Notre Dame tries to establish the run early, realizes it’s not going to happen and then starts to put the ball in the air where the Badgers are beatable. Still, it’s enough for the under to hit, so we’re going where the money is headed.
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