You could make a strong case that no team has a better resume than the Stanford Cardinal through the first four weeks of the 2018 college football betting season. Stanford has wins over USC, San Diego State, and Oregon, and very few teams already have wins over three quality opponents. This week, the Cardinal will take to the road for the second straight time to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Notre Dame is riding high after thrashing Wake Forest on Saturday, and the Irish are looking for another win over a ranked opponent at home.
This contest in Week 5 will go down Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Stanford +4.5
Notre Dame -4.5
Total Check Back Later
Odds Analysis
Oddsmakers opened with Notre Dame as a 3.5-point favorite on the CFB betting line in this one. That wasn’t enough points though, and early action came in on Notre Dame, pushing the number to where it currently sits. The total for this game will be released on Monday afternoon.
Player to Watch
Ian Book is the new man in charge of Notre Dame’s offense. Book saw some action last season, taking the field whenever Brandon Wimbush was ineffective. However, he failed to seize the initiative and take over the starting job, averaging 6.1 yards per pass and tossing as many touchdowns as interceptions in 2017. Head coach Brian Kelly gave him another shot last week though, and Book had a spectacular game.
In his first career start, Book was almost flawless. He completed 73.5 percent of his passes on the road against Wake Forest, throwing for 325 yards and two touchdowns. To run Brian Kelly’s offense effectively, you need to be able to run the ball as the quarterback too and Book was fine in that role. He added three scores on the ground, leading Notre Dame to 56 points. Following that performance, Book has certainly earned another start.
Matchup to Watch
Bryce Love and the Stanford ground game have yet to get it going this year. After running for over 2,100 yards in 2017, Love was the Heisman Trophy favorite coming into this season. However, he is averaging just 4.3 yards per carry through Stanford’s first four games and only has one 100-yard game to his credit.
The Fighting Irish have an above average run defense. They have allowed just 3.5 yards per carry through their first four games, and Stanford may have issues moving the ball on the ground once again. That would put the onus on K.J. Costello to move the ball on the Irish secondary.
Live Betting Preview
You could have made a small fortune if you kept live betting on Stanford last week. The Cardinal were short favorites per the CFB betting odds coming into the game, but they allowed Oregon to score touchdowns on their first three possessions. They trailed the entire way, losing by two to three scores for much of the game, but took advantage of some Oregon mistakes late in order to win in overtime. To add insult to injury for Ducks bettors, the Cardinal even covered all numbers on the NCAAF betting line.
It’s not easy to travel on the road in back-to-back weeks, and it’s harder still when you’re facing ranked teams on the road in consecutive games. Teams can usually come out hot for one half, but fatigue usually becomes a factor by the second half. That’s when you should start betting on Notre Dame in live betting.
Stanford’s defense was on the field for 82 plays last week. The Cardinal gave up over 500 yards of offense to the Ducks, and Notre Dame will be able to eventually wear out this defense with its running game. It might be close for a half, but Notre Dame’s offense will force Stanford’s defense to crack in the second half giving the Irish a win and a cover.
College Football Odds: Notre Dame 34, Stanford 20
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