College Football Betting – Michigan vs Notre Dame

There weren’t two teams that were more impressive in the last weekend’s college football betting than the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But coming into Week 2, with each team desperate for a win, who’s got the edge?

Michigan Wolverines (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0 SU, 0-1 ATS)

Saturday, September 11: 3:30 p.m. NBC

NCAA Betting Odds:

Michigan: +3 ½
Notre Dame: -3 ½
Total Points: 52 ½

Let’s start with the home-team Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who opened up the Brian Kelly era with an emphatic 23-12 win over Purdue last Saturday. And as much as the talk was Dayne Crist and the offense, it was really the defense that got the job done.

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Under previous head coach Charlie Weis this unit was terrible, yet with Kelly calling the shots, they seemed to have a new sense of purpose last Saturday. In their win, Notre Dame’s defense limited Purdue’s running game, and forced quarterback Robert Marve into two interceptions, in claiming the college football betting win. The Irish made a handful of late defensive stands to seal the victory.

Not to be outdone, the offense looked quite good as well, tallying 358 yards in Kelly’s spread attack. The star of the show was quarterback Dayne Crist, who looked comfortable in the shotgun, throwing for 205 yards, and completing 19 of 26 passes. Running back Armando Allen looked completely different than the guy from a season ago, as he was shifty and hit holes hard, tallying 93 yards on 18 carries.

Michigan on the other hand comes into this game with as much certainty surrounding their program as any time during the Rich Rodriguez era. They also may have had the MVP of the entire college football world last weekend, in quarterback Denard Robinson. Robinson was a one man wrecking crew against UConn, as he finished with 197 yards rushing, while passing for another 186. Not bad for a true sophomore who was limited in playing time last season.

So with both teams looking so good in Week 1, who should you pick as the college football betting winner? Take Notre Dame.

We’re not saying that Michigan isn’t improved, and won’t be good this year, but at the same time, there’s a huge difference between playing in front of 110,000 of your own fans and going on the road to Notre Dame Stadium. At the same time, remember this: As good as Robinson looked last week, him just being in the lineup caught UConn off-guard. Rich Rodriguez was very careful in divulging information in the preseason, and the Huskies had no idea who’d be lining up at quarterback until shortly before kickoff. The same won’t happen this weekend at Notre Dame, and they’ll be ready for the speedy Robinson.

No, we’re going to take the Irish at home. While things weren’t perfect last week, Notre Dame had crisp offensive execution, and while the defense wasn’t great, there’s no doubt it was improved. Most importantly after years of wilting down the stretch under Weis, this team actually got stronger in the fourth quarter against Purdue. The Irish didn’t allow a point in the final 11 minutes of play.

When it comes to this weekend there are a lot of college football betting choices you can make, but only that can’t miss.

Take Notre Dame as a point spread winner over Michigan.

The Pick: Notre Dame -3 ½