The No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are considerable underdogs against the No. 2 Clemson Tigers in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. This afternoon game will get underway at 4:00 p.m. ET and you can catch the action live on ESPN.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Clemson Tigers Betting Preview
The Fighting Irish approach this Saturday game as a big underdog and are currently receiving 12 points. In order to take the home favorite, moneyline gamblers would currently have to put up $500 to win $100 back on the Tigers (-500). The Fighting Irish are getting +350 moneyline odds. Should one team can create a bunch of points in the early stages it would result in a decent in-game betting opportunity. Vegas has determined the over/under (O/U) to be 55 points.
This opening line was originally -11 and the game’s O/U was set initially at 56, so sharp bettors have been prefering both the Tigers and the under.
Both of these teams have been profitable this season as the Fighting Irish have gained 9.3 units and the Tigers are ahead 5.0 units.
The Fighting Irish have gone 12-0 straight up (SU) in 2018 while the Tigers are 13-0 SU.
The Fighting Irish are looking to remain undefeated after a 24-17 win over USC on November 24 where their secondary allowed the Trojans to air it out for 349 yards. Tyler Vaughns had a good day for the Trojans in that one with 120 yards and a score on 12 catches. On the offense, Ian Book completed just 22 passes on 39 attempts for 352 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Dexter Williams (97 rushing yards on 16 attempts, one TD) led the ground attack. Chris Finke (seven receptions, 86 yards, one TD) and Chase Claypool (five catches, 73 yards) shared the receiving duties in the win.
Clemson just put together a 42-10 win over Pittsburgh. The team’s defense allowed the Panthers to rush for 191 yards on 48 attempts, along with one rushing TD. Darrin Hall had a productive showing in the loss, recording 86 rushing yards on 14 attempts for Pittsburgh. For Clemson, Trevor Lawrence completed 12-of-24 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Etienne (156 rushing yards on 12 attempts, two TDs) and Adam Choice (51 yards on seven carries, one TD) mounted the running game as Tee Higgins (three receptions, 36 yards, two TDs) and Trevion Thompson (three catches, 15 yards) led the receiving corps in the win.
Notre Dame has run the ball on 56.6 percent of its offensive possessions this year while Clemson has a rush percentage of 53.5 percent. The Fighting Irish have produced 191 rush yards per game and have 27 scores on the ground this year. The Tigers are logging 260 rushing yards per game and have 46 total rush TDs.
If the numbers so far this season are any indication, then it seems like the Tigers ought to own the advantage when it comes to RB efficiency. Their running backs has generated 6.8 yards per carry while the defense has allowed a YPC of 2.4 to opponents. The Fighting Irish have rushed for 4.6 yards per carry while allowing a YPC of 3.7 to opponents.
The Irish offensive scheme has tallied 266 yards per contest through the air overall and has 23 passing TDs so far. The Tigers have produced 270 pass yards per outing and have 31 total pass scores.
Notre Dame has allowed opponents to run for an average of 134 yards and pass for 198 yards per game. The Clemson D has allowed 183.8 yards per game to opposing passers and 92.9 yards per game to opposing runners. The Irish are giving up an adjusted net yards per pass attempt (ANY/A) of only 3.70 to opponents, while the Tigers have allowed a 4.56 ANY/A.
Passing-wise, Book is up to 2,176 yards on the year, and has connected on 174-of-243 attempts with 17 scores through the air and only five interceptions. Book has an 8.79 adjusted net yards per pass attempt, including 7.75 over the last two games.
Trevor Lawrence has completed 185-of-290 passes for 2,213 yards, 23 TDs and four INTs for Clemson. His ANY/A stands at 8.20 for the year and 9.26 over his last two games.
NCAA Prediction: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Clemson Tigers
SU Winner – Clemson, ATS Winner – Clemson, O/U – Over
Click Here to Start Betting Today!
Notes
Betting Notes
Clemson has lost eight fumbles this season while Notre Dame has let three get away.
The Clemson defensive unit has sacked opposing quarterbacks 46 times this season. Notre Dame has recorded just 31 sacks.
Notre Dame has rushed for 5.6 yards per attempt over its past three games and 4.4 over its last two.
Clemson has averaged 6.8 yards per carry over its last three outings and 7.2 over its last two.
+++++
