Notre Dame Oklahoma Odds
Posted by Jack Jones - Google+
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In one of the most anticipated non-conference games of the season, the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners will host the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday. This will be the first meeting since these two teams last faced off in 1999. The Fighting Irish hold a 8-1 advantage in the series. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 EST at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and will be televised nationally on ABC.
For those of you looking to place a wager on this matchup, oddsmakers currently have Oklahoma favored by 10-points over Notre Dame with the total set at 68.5 points.
Notre Dame:
The Irish improved to 7-0 with a thrilling 17-14 win at home over BYU. Notre Dame jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, but BYU would take a 14-7 advantage into the half and were up 14-10 going into the 4th quarter. The Fighting Irish scored early in the final period and their defense did the rest.
I was really impressed with how Notre Dame ran the ball right down the throats of the BYU defense. The Fighting Irish finished up with 270 yards on the ground, thanks to a big time performance from Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood. Riddick rushed for a career-high 143 yards on 15 attempts, while Wood added another 114 yards on 18 carries. The biggest run of the game came from sophomore George Atkinson III, whose 2-yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter proved to be the game-winner.
Notre Dame was without starting quarterback Everett Golson, who was forced to sit out because of a concussion. Backup Tommy Reese did an okay job filling in. He went 7 of 16 for 117 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Golson is expected to be cleared to play and back in the starting lineup against Oklahoma.
The Fighting Irish come into this game averaging just 25.9 ppg and it’s pretty safe to say they aren’t undefeated because of how the offense is playing. This team has scored 20 points or less in all but two games and will likely find it hard to do a whole lot against an Oklahoma defense that comes in 12th in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 15.3 ppg. Oklahoma’s has excelled in keeping opposing quarterbacks in check, but the run defense has been suspect at times. They are giving up 138.2 ypg on the ground and three times this season have allowed 185 yards or more.
Oklahoma:
The Sooners come in riding a huge wave of momentum. They have won three straight since that devastating 19-24 loss at home to Kansas State, including a 52-7 win over Kansas this past weekend. Oklahoma is now 5-1 on the season.
Oklahoma has really got their offense rolling during their three game winning streak. They are averaging 52 points and nearly 485 yards of total offense.
Senior quarterback Landry Jones has played a key role in getting the Sooners back on track. He has thrown for 871 yards with 7 touchdowns to just one interception over his last three games. He completed 20 of 29 for 300 yards and three touchdowns last Saturday against Kansas.
However, the Oklahoma offense managed just 93 yards rushing against the Jayhawks. While they did get touchdown runs from Blake Bell and Damien Williams, it was surprising to see them not break 100 yards given how much they were ahead in that game. The Sooners were coming off a game against Texas where they put up 343 yards rushing on the Longhorns.
I’m pretty confident that the Sooners offense will have a much harder time moving the ball against the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame features one of the top defensive units in the entire country. They are 2nd in scoring defense, allowing just 9.4 ppg and 6th in total defense giving up just 280.7 ypg. They have excelled against both the run (106.7 ypg) and the pass (174.0 ypg).
Betting Trends:
Oklahoma is 6-1 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games following a SU win of more than 20 points. Notre Dame is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games after scoring less than 20 points in their previous game, but are just 3-7 ATS vs. a team with a winning record and 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
