College Football Betting Preview: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Week 4 of the college football season brings us myriad exciting and competitive games to enjoy. Props, spreads and even totals are available across several highlight games. One of the featured games is a battle between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. This is a ranked matchup as the Buckeyes enter ranked sixth in the polls while the Irish are a solid ninth.

Ohio State sits at 3-0 after a 63-10 dismantling of the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. Even with a new quarterback at the wheel, the Buckeyes’ elite weapons all had a monster day. TreVeyon Henderson and Emeka Egbuka both scored twice while surefire top-10 draft pick Marvin Harrison Jr showed out with a 5-126-1 stat line.

Notre Dame has taken care of business and has moved through the first quarter of their schedule with a perfect 4-0 record. Quarterback Sam Hartman and RB1 Audric Estime have been instrumental to their fast start. Hartman showed why he was considered elite during his time at Wake Forest by throwing for over 300 yards and 3 scores in a blowout win over CMU while Estime racked up 176 yards and a touchdown.

Let’s dig into this matchup and find the best possible betting angle to attack.

Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Spread: Ohio State -3.5 (-110), Notre Dame +3.5 (-110)
Moneyline: Ohio State -166, Notre Dame +140
Total: Over 55.5 (-110), Under 55.5 (-110)

This is the second half of a home-and-home series, with Ohio State traveling to South Bend this year after defeating the Irish 21-10 in 2022. Last year was an intense game in which points were hard to come by and it wouldn’t surprise if both defenses rose to the occasion once again.

One of the stranger aspects of this game is that the Buckeyes won’t have the best quarterback on the field for the first time in years. Kyle McCord has shown flashes but isn’t as polished as the veteran Sam Hartman. The Notre Dame offense has been uber-efficient and nearly automatic in the red zone. The Irish have scored a touchdown on 13 of their 15 trips inside of the 20-yard line, which can be attributed the surgical Hartman as well as his potent o-line.

Asking the younger Kyle McCord to go into a hostile environment and win this game with his arm may prove to be difficult. The Notre Dame defense is littered with professional talent and cornerback Benjamin Morrison will be looking to make life miserable for Marvin Harrison. The preseason All-American will be up for the challenge and has the chops to contain anyone at the collegiate level.

Additionally, the Irish are likely to lean on their stud running back Audric Estime as a way to keep the Buckeyes offense off the field and out of sync. Estime is averaging over 130 YPG on the ground and has an 8.3 YPC.

That’s not to say Sam Hartman isn’t capable of winning this one with his passing ability and you can rest assured he won’t be rattled if this comes down to the final possession. We are talking about a guy that is top 10 on the FBS career touchdown passes list. He is also closing in on the top 10 in career passing yardage as well. While I think this will be a lower scoring game, I think Hartman will make plays when he has to.

I’m leaning to the under here as Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is likely to opt for a conservative game plan in which he feeds his stud RB while chewing up clock. On the other side, both of these defenses have proven they can stifle opposing offenses and this environment could prove to be too much for Kyle McCord at this stage of his young career.

Best Bet

Under 55.5 Total