Football Picks: Notre Dame at Michigan

Obviously the game game this week is one that can make or break a season. Southern Cal goes to Ohio State to face off against the Buckeyes at the Horseshoe, and there will be plenty of media hype covering these two teams. If you want to bet this game, take advantage of the FREE $500 bonus from BetUS!

With that said, we’re going to take a peek at another big game, our matchup of the week is the Fighting Irish facing off against the Wolverines. Both Notre Dame and Michigan looked great in their opening week games, and now the pressure is on for the two respected programs to see which can avoid a costly early season loss.

Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis plausibly couldn’t have demanded a better start to the season last week against Nevada. Of course, Nevada couldn’t muster a score of any kind throughout the contest, but it was the uniform and deadly passing game that flourished under quarterback Jimmy Clausen. The junior, who is ready to be the standout player he was prospected to be tossed for 315 yards on 15-of-18 and four scores. His receivers Michael Floyd and Golden Tate look to be a very dynamic pair, while tight end Kyle Rudolph is physically talented enough to dominate at his position. The running game, however, still seems suspect, and 178 yards overall on the ground against a rocky Wolf Pack defense still doesn’t do much to convince me. The Irish easily managed to cover as 14.5-point chalk in front of their home faithful.

The Wolverines, also wowed their crowd, but it was the new players that were able to seize the attention of the Wolverine sponsors. True freshman quarterback Tate Forcier tossed three TDs and managed the offense for most of the game, not producing any slips. Another new star coming on strong is the speedy Denard Robinson, who got some attention in the offseason for leaving his shoes untied when on the field. Apparently he needs not to, as a big 43-yard dash for a touchdown indicated he knows precisely what to do when he has the football. Similar to Notre Dame, Michigan covered the spread, as a 31-7 win surpassed the 13 points they laid at home to Western Michigan.

Now breaking down this game. And the deciding factor with two offenses that seem capable of scoring points should be the defenses and which team is more efficient when asked. Personally, even though I’m a Michigan fan, the Wolverines have a faster and sounder defensive unit. I think they will be able to get in the backfield, and the secondary looks more able to hold its own in the passing game. And that will be the test, as Weis will surely make a firm choice to go down the field and see how able Clausen can be in loosening the defensive backs of the Wolverines for some yards in the passing game.

The Fighting Irish come in as 3.5-point road chalk. However the point spread can be found at 3 if you compare between books. I would think keep steady between 3 and 3.5, and that could be crucial, as this should be a tight game all day up in Michigan. The dog has covered eight of the previous 10 games in this series, but the Irish are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 vs. Michigan. Notre Dame’s last win in Ann Arbor was in 2005, and Michigan has won all but one of the last five in the Big House over Notre Dame. No total has been published yet, but if I had to make out a guess, I would guess around 44 or 45.

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