Notre Dame will play at home against UNC. The NCAAF odds have them as 3.5 point favorites at the top-rated sportsbooks. What should we expect? Here are keys for each team and a prediction.
Saturday, October 30, 2021 – 07:30 PM EDT at Notre Dame Stadium
College football is approaching November, and teams are desperate to boost their postseason resumes. After a loss to Cincinnati, Notre Dame seems to be out of the College Football Playoff race. However, they still have plenty to play for.
Notre Dame could make it to a quality bowl game, but they can’t afford to lose to an unranked opponent. That’s what makes this game against North Carolina so interesting.
For all intents and purposes, the Tarheels have been underwhelming this season. They hoped to win the ACC and perhaps make a run to the College Football Playoff, but they have too many losses on their schedule. The offense has regressed, and the defense has not done enough to balance this team.
Still, UNC has all of the potentials in the world. They just need to put the pieces together. Will they do that in this game?
Notre Dame’s offense has balance, but they lack an explosive element. They are used to this, but it limits the ways that they can win games. For example, it is hard for them to come back from large deficits.
Because of this, the Fighting Irish desperately need to start off strong. They can run the ball with Kyren Williams and chew the clock, lowering the total number of drives. This will turn the game into a battle of physicality and efficiency, and Notre Dame should be able to win this game.
Williams is an underrated back, but he has struggled to find the end zone on the ground. He only has six rushing touchdowns on 121 carries. He needs to find a way to break past the initial wave of tacklers and take one to the house on a deep run. He has to do more than simply gain four yards in a cloud of dust. He is a dynamic player, and he needs to play like one.
Notre Dame needs to figure this out, but North Carolina also has keys to cover this spread.
North Carolina will try to win this game with Sam Howell, and that is their best hope. Howell makes mistakes, but he is also a dual-threat athlete. He has more rushing yards this year than the rest of his career combined, and he still has 18 passing touchdowns. If Howell can make plays without turning the ball over, this will be a close game. He can make them with his arm or legs, but he needs to remain efficient. The mistakes have been UNC’s downfall, and that can’t happen against the Fighting Irish in a night game.
On defense, UNC will likely try to bring pressure. Jack Coan is not a mobile threat, so he can’t win this game if he has to leave the pocket. If the Tarheels can get him moving around, the ND offense will be out of rhythm all night.
Besides this, winning the red zone will be a key to covering the spread. A 3.5-point spread means that it can simply be covered if Notre Dame has to settle for a field goal once. There is a lot that will go into this game, but this is a crash course in what to look for
North Carolina is coming off of a bye week, but that doesn’t guarantee them a win. In fact, some teams get off to slow starts after bye weeks.
Notre Dame has struggled this year, but they have still won all games except for one. This one will be in their own stadium at night, and it is the day before Halloween. Crazy things can happen, but they will have all the energy in the world in that environment.
This will come down to execution, and I simply trust Notre Dame’s roster more than I trust UNC’s for my NCAAF pick.
NCAAF Pick: Notre Dame -3.5 (-108) at Heritage Sports (visit our Heritage Sports Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.