Michigan/Notre Dame Sread, Odds, Line & Predictions
September 11, 2008
The two winningest programs in college football history aren’t expected to do much of anything this year. Michigan is a mess and Notre Dame should be improved over last year’s 3-9 finish. But the Fighting Irish struggled with San Diego State, a team that lost to Cal-Poly SLO the previous week. Despite having home-field advantage, the Michigan/Notre Dame spread shows the Wolverines as a 2-point favorite right now. Larry Cook will give you insight to this game. If you want winning advice from a proven handicapper with over 20 years of experience on your side, then you have come to the right place. Purchase Larry’s Saturday NCAA Football 11-Pack for one low fee of $24.95 here! You’ll get the best eleven college football picks on the planet this weekend.
Players to watch for Michigan this week include QB Steven Threet, RB Sam McGuffie and SS Brandon Harrison. Threet will get the start again under center as coach Rich Rodriquez pleads with him or Nick Sheridan to take control of the job. Threet is 14-of-32 passing for the year, with 132 yards and a touchdown. McGuffie looked great last week to give Michigan a solid back to hand the ball off to all game. Bet Michigan -2 at Sportsbook.com and get reduced -105 juice on Friday’s!
McGuffie ran for 74 yards on 17 carries. He looks to be separating himself from the stable of back on the roster. Strong safety Brandon Harrison is second on the team in tackles and he’s the leader in the secondary. The defensive backs for Michigan must play well, and much better than they have in the first two games. Notre Dame will be throwing the ball a ton to try and exploit this secondary.
After getting pummeled 38-0 last season by Michigan, the Fighting Irish will be looking for payback. Neither team resembles last season’s squads. Much of the focus will be on the coaches. Charlie Weiss needs to turn the corner after a 3-9 season last year, while Michigan’s Rich Rodriquez needs to win over the Wolverine fan base. The losing coach is sure to be under a ton of heat.
Players to watch for Notre Dame include RB Armando Allen, SS Kyle McCarthy, LT Mike Turkovich and RT Sam Young. Allen will be asked to get the tough yards against Michigan one week after he rushed 17 times for 59 yards. He also returned two punts for 35 yards and two kicks for 46 yards. Other options for Notre Dame will be bigger backs in Robert Hughes and James Aldridge. Weiss has been saying he will use all three, but Aldridge did not play in the opener.
Kyle McCarthy was all over the field in the Fighting Irish’ season opening win over San Diego State. He had a game-high 14 tackles, which included 10 solo stops. He’ll have to be all over the field against Michigan and be wary of the quarterback runs. Both of Notre Dame’s tackles will have to step up on an offensive line that will be tested off the edge by Michigan’s Brandon Graham and Tim Jamison. Each end has recorded two sacks through two games. The Wolverines now have a total of nine sacks, and their athleticism will be a huge challenge for the Irish front five. Bet Notre Dame +2 at BetUs Sportsbook right here!