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Notre Dame Football: Analyzing the odds means Wake should be a cake walk

By Dante Pryor

Sep 22, 2018; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Avery Davis (3) gets hit by Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Amari Henderson (4) in the second quarter at BB&T Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 22, 2018; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Avery Davis (3) gets hit by Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive back Amari Henderson (4) in the second quarter at BB&T Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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Notre Dame Football hosts the Wake Forest Demon Deacons Saturday afternoon in South Bend. The Irish come into the game as heavy favorites.

Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish (7-3) have been here. They have to regroup after a tough loss. The last game against the Clemson Tigers, the Irish played one of their worst games of the season, falling 31-23. The passing game sputtered as Sam Hartman threw a pair of interceptions.

The defense played better after a sluggish start, allowing just seven second-half points. Wake Forest (4-6) comes into this game on a three-game losing streak after its 26-6 loss to North Carolina State last weekend. The Demon Deacons have dealt with injuries and inconsistent play all season. They are looking to pull the upset and win out to get to the postseason.

Analyzing the Odds for Notre Dame Football

Odds: Notre Dame -24.5

Team Total:  o/u 46.5

Money Line: Notre Dame -3000/ Wake Forest +1280

Wake Forest is 4-6 against the spread (ATS) this season. Demon Deacons’ games have gone under in six of the last eight games. Notre Dame is 6-3-1 against the spread this season. The Irish have hit the over in seven of the last eight games.

Keys to Victory

This game feels a lot like the Pitt game. Wake Forest is struggling, and Notre Dame Football is the far superior team. Notre Dame needs to come out early and assert itself against the Deacons. Sam Hartman needs a bounce-back game.

He hasn’t had a great game in six weeks. Hartman has thrown five touchdowns and seven interceptions. In addition, he hasn’t thrown a touchdown in a month.

Also, like the Pitt game, Notre Dame had an off week. That gave some players time to rest some nagging injuries. Receivers Tobias Merriweather and Rico Flores should be in better health this week. Hartman and the receiving corps should fare better against a defense that ranks 63rd in pass yards allowed.

The defense should succeed against an offense that has averaged 11 points over the last three games. Notre Dame Football has to be aggressive on both sides of the ball to get the win.

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