Notre Dame and Florida State Set Out to Prove Who is #1



The #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish head to Tallahassee to take on the #1 Florida State Seminoles in college footballs biggest game of the day.

For bettors, the tune "What have you done for me lately?" will likely be ringing in their ears as they hunker down testing their loyalty Saturday night for college football's biggest game of the season on ABC as the #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish head to Tallahassee to take on the #1 Florida State Seminoles .

No one likely remembers Florida State's magical point spread cover streak last season marching to a BCS national championship. They may be 6-0 straight up this year but an abysmal 1-5 against the spread this season and that lone cover against Wake Forest was a last second squeaker. Notre Dame may be an undefeated 6-0 but they unraveled on defense last week defeating North Carolina 50-43 and held on against Stanford the week before 17-14. Their spread record stands at 4-2 or 3-2-1 with the Stanford game a likely push.

Notre Dame FootballHopefully all the action (and talk) will be centered on the field as both starting QB's have spent time on academic suspension. Fighting Irish starting QB Everett Golson has been solid but has a lot to prove. Notre Dame is 1-15 against top five teams since 1999 including eight straight losses in a row by at least 13 points. The current college football odds at Diamond Sports stands at Florida State -10. That doesn't bode well for the Irish, who will be facing a manic crowd in Tallahassee on Saturday evening.

Again, the focus for Notre Dame's best chances will be on defense as head coach Brian Kelly will have to figure out what went wrong last week vs. North Carolina. The Irish do have a great secondary anchored by safeties Max Redfield and Austin Collinsworth.

Of course all eyes on Heisman hero, FSU QB Jameis Winston and to see whether he can handle the pressure of his off-the-field problems. He has a fine supporting cast of offensive talent but RB Mario Pender is questionable with an ankle injury. The Seminoles lost some superstars to graduation and the NFL last season though still have some top talent to reclaim their #1 ranking including DE Mario Edwards and linebacker Terrance Smith.

College Football Betting Suggestions

What you always look for evaluating any game is value and I believe you have some key extra wagering points that could make a difference deciding the outcome here. As Florida State has disappointed bettors going 1-5 ATS this season in feature games, oddsmakers have likely trimmed down the spread against Notre Dame tonight.

Although the Noles have only covered 1 of their last 4 games at home they have cashed at home an impressive 13 out of the last 20 games according to stats at Diamond Sports. And that's often laying double digit numbers. FSU has won and covered their last two meetings against Notre Dame with both games going under the total (currently at 56.5).

Once the whistle blows all distractions should be behind QB Winston for at least the game itself, which gives FSU a great edge at home and a great value opportunity to finally put away an opponent. Don't be afraid of laying the points, look for the Noles to cover and reclaim some #1 votes by Sunday morning.

For a complete preview of the Notre Dame-Florida State game, including predictions and NCAA Football picks, check out the video below.


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