Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame Prediction, Picks & Odds: Week 2
Notre Dame looks to build off an upset over an AP top-20 team in Week 1 when it hosts Northern Illinois in its home opener.
Last week, Notre Dame knocked off Texas A&M in a hostile Kyle Field environment.
Marcus Freeman’s 19 wins are tied with Charlie Weis for the most by a Fighting Irish head coach in their first two years at the helm, and Notre Dame is now likely to be favored in each of its remaining regular season games.
Notre Dame enters Saturday's contest as 28.5-point favorites at our top college betting sites.
Our Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame prediction analyzes if the line for this matchup is over-inflated given the Fighting Irish’s high-profile win on national television last week or if there is better value elsewhere with a full-game pick.
Our Week 2 college football predictions complement this analysis, showcasing the other marquee matchups.
Best Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame picks
College football picks based on the odds from our best college football betting sites. Odds subject to change.
- Spread pick: Northern Illinois +28.5 (-112 via FanDuel) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Player prop: Beaux Collins anytime touchdown scorer (+187 via bet365) ⭐⭐⭐
Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame spread prediction: Week 2
Northern Illinois to cover the spread: +28.5 (-112) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This is not an overreaction to Notre Dame’s subpar offensive performance against Texas A&M, as all credit goes to the Aggies' defense, especially in a challenging environment.
And while I was thoroughly impressed with the Fighting Irish defense, Northern Illinois’ defense should surprise people in this matchup, leading to a cover of this behemoth spread.
Notre Dame’s run defense can be exposed
Notre Dame forced Connor Weigman, who had the highest QBR of any quarterback through three games last season, into a subpar 100-yard passing day with two interceptions last week.
Thus, facing a Northern Illinois offense that was projected to finish 117 in Offensive SP+ (and sixth out of 12 MAC teams) should be a walk in the park in comparison.
However, I expect the Huskies to attack Notre Dame on the ground more and expose the Fighting Irish’s lack of beef on the defensive line, especially on an unseasonably cold early September day where wind gusts will blow upwards of 20 mph.
Don’t sleep on the Huskies defense
Northern Illinois finished 10th last year in passing success rate allowed, and the defense returned seven linemen with 200-plus snaps of experience.
That depth should help prevent the defensive line from wearing down, just as the Aggies did when the Fighting Irish churned out 198 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns of 21-plus yards.
Making this play at FanDuel is a no-brainer, as it is currently the only one of our top sports betting sites offering a spread higher than +28.
A $10 winning wager returns an $18.93 payout.
Best odds: -112 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 52.38%
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Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame player prop
Beaux Collins anytime touchdown scorer (+187) ⭐⭐⭐
Notre Dame identified Jeremiyah Love as its work-horse running back after Audric Estime left for the NFL. And while three Fighting Irish players carried eight or more times in last week’s win, this is an excellent opportunity for Notre Dame to see what it has in the passing game.
Just as Love separated himself in the running game with his big-play ability, so did Clemson transfer Beaux Collins in the passing game.
Collins had Notre Dame’s longest reception (20 yards) and was the only player to catch more than three passes and total more than 26 yards through the air.
And as long as tight end Mitchell Evans continues to work back slowly from last year’s torn ACL (he played 10 snaps in Week 1), Riley Leonard should continue to look Collins’ way as his top receiving option.
There is a vast discrepancy among our top sports betting sites with this prop, as DraftKings has much shorter +120 odds for Collins to find the end zone.
That price carries a 45.45% implied win probability and has me even more confident in my $10 wager, which would pay $18.70 in profits with bet365’s generous +187 odds.
Best odds: +187 via bet365 | Implied probability: 34.84%
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Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame odds
See all of this week's college football odds and NCAAF scores.
Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame game info
- When: Saturday, Sept. 7
- Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
- Where: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
- How to watch: NBC/Peacock
- Weather: 65 degrees, 15% chance of precipitation, wind 16 mph NNW
- Favorite: Notre Dame -28 (-110 via DraftKings)
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