The Sooners opened as 3-point road favorites over Notre Dame in a clash of two of college football’s most prestigious programs.
The Fighting Irish ran over Oklahoma, 30-13, in last season’s meeting and went on to reach the BCS National Championship Game. Notre Dame hasn’t looked like the same team this season and struggled in close wins over Michigan State and Purdue the past couple weeks. The Irish’s loss to Michigan looks even worse with the Wolverines’ struggles against Akron and Connecticut.
Oklahoma is coming off a bye and appears to have found an answer to its early quarterback issues with the insertion of Blake Bell as the starter. Bell threw for more than 400 yards in his first career start in the Sooners’ win over Tulsa.
Notre Dame has had mixed results as a home underdog, going 11-9 against the spread in its last 20 games in that situation. This the first time the Irish have been a home underdog since 2010.
The Fighting Irish currently sports a record of 3-1, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 0-3-1 ATS. The Sooners are 3-0 and 2-1 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Fighting Irish post a 2-2 over under record this season, while the Sooners have gone 1-2 against the number.
View Oklahoma Sooners vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish Odds and Stats.
Oddsmakers at Sportsbook opened the Fighting Irish as 3-point underdogs in the matchup, while the betting total was sitting near 49 at Sportsbook Thursday.
The game pits the Fighting Irish, currently No. 33 in our OddsShark NCAAF Power Rankings, against the Sooners, who rate No. 26 in the latest survey. Meanwhile, math and handicapping models run on this game predict a 34-23 victory for the Sooners.
Oklahoma was a 51-20 Sportsbook in their most recent outing at home against Tulsa. They covered the 22.5-point spread as favorites, while the total score (71) made Sportsbooks of OVER bettors. The Fighting Irish grabbed a Week 4 victory over the Spartans in their last game, winning 17-13 at Notre Dame Stadium.
How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Notre Dame's No. 77-ranked offense (26.5 PPG) against a Sooners defense that ranks No. 6 at 9 PPG. The Fighting Irish passing attack has averaged 280 yards per game, more than the Sooners give up through the air (190.67 YPG on average).
In comparing defenses, the Sooners own the league's No. 24-rated front 7 in terms of stopping the run, allowing 102 yards per game when on the road. Notre Dame, on the other hand, rates No. 99 this week in generating rushing yards at home.
A few Sooners at Fighting Irish trends to consider:
Oklahoma is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma's last 5 games
Oklahoma is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Notre Dame is 0-4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
Notre Dame is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
The total has gone UNDER in 12 of Notre Dame's last 16 games
Notre Dame is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home
Next up:
Oklahoma at TCU, Saturday, October 5th
Notre Dame at Arizona State, Saturday, October 5th
