By Ian S Palmer
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are back in action this Saturday, September 12 when they take to the road for a game against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville. Notre Dame won their season opener a week ago when they beat Texas 38-3 with quarterback Malik Zaire leading the way in South Bend. The Cavaliers didn’t fare as well as they were taken down 34-16 by the UCLA Bruins at Westwood.
Notre Dame vs Virginia Football Betting Preview
BETTING LINE:
- Point Spread: Notre Dame -12.5, -107 | Virginia +12.5, -105
- Money Line: Notre Dame -475 | Virginia +393
- Over/Under: Over 47.5 +100 | Under 47.5 -112
Notre Dame played well on both sides of the ball last week. Junior quarterback Zaire went 19 for 22 in passing with three touchdowns and 313 yards and the team’s total offense reached 527 yards. Defensively, the experienced squad gave up just 163 yards to the Longhorns. There was some bad news though as Tarean Folston, who led the team in rushing last year with six touchdowns and 889 yards, tore his MCL last week and is out for the 2015 campaign.
The Fighting Irish will be hoping that freshman Josh Adams and junior C.J. Prosise will be able to fill the void. Prosise carried the ball for 98 yards last week on 20 carries and Adams chipped in with 49 yards on five carries and scored a couple of touchdowns. Zaire can also carry the ball when he has to, but he may prefer to pass to receiver Will Fuller, who had seven receptions, two touchdowns and 142 yards against Texas. The Virginia defense gave up three touchdowns and 351 yards to rookie quarterback Josh Rosen of the Bruins last week.
Notre Dame struggled defensively at the end of last season by allowing 43.5 points a game against on average over their last four away contests. They lost three of those four games and were also 1-3 against the spread in them. However, they’ll be up against a Cavaliers’ side which scored an average of 18 points in their four meetings with ranked opponents in 2014.
Virginia wasn’t really expected to beat UCLA last week, but there were a few bright spots. Junior quarterback Matt Johns gained 238 yards and a touchdown by going 21 for 35, but he also threw an interception. His touchdown pass was caught by running back Taquan Mizzell, who carried the ball 16 times for 45 yards. However, he also gained 100 yards with eight receptions. The Cavaliers hope he can keep it up against Notre Dame.
Virginia’s offense scored just 26 points a game on average last year, but it went up to 30.6 points at home. Also, their defense allowed only 19 points at home per game in their seven encounters. The fine defensive play allowed Virginia to post a 5-2 home record last season against the spread and straight up. Their pass defense struggled against UCLA though, but one of the team’s strong points is their secondary. Still, Notre Dame should leave town with a victory.
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