The No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-0) and No. 8 BYU Cougars (5-0) square off Saturday in a top-10 showdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (ABC). Let's analyze college football odds around the Notre Dame at BYU odds and make our expert college football picks and predictions for the best bets.
Notre Dame (-40.5) had 5 TDs of 30 yards or more as the Irish smashed visiting the Stanford Cardinal 58-7 (Over 55) for its 16th consecutive victory. Big plays ruled the day as RB Jonaz Walton scored on a 97-yard TD run -- the third longest play in Notre Dame history -- and RB Aneyas Williams caught a 70-yard TD to help stake the Irish to a 37-0 halftime lead. Walton finished the day with 181 yards rushing and 2
TDs on 13 carries, while QB CJ Carr completed 14 of 20 passes for 181 yards and 3 TDs. Notre Dame held Stanford to 202 total yards (144 passing, 58 rushing) while amassing 598 yards (237 passing, 361 rushing).
QB Bear Bachmeier threw for a season-high 329 yards, tossed 2 TDs and ran for a career-high 109 yards to lead BYU (-11.5) past the visiting Iowa State Cyclones 24-10 (Under 46.5) Oct. 9. BYU was playing without their top RB, LJ Martin, who missed the game with a lower body injury. WR Legend Glasker caught 5 passes for 99 yards and 1 TD. The BYU defense stifled the Iowa State offense, holding the Cyclones to 200 total yards (98 passing, 102 rushing) -- their lowest single-game total since 2018 -- and 2 of 13 on third down.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 5-2, with 2 additional Irish wins vacated. Notre Dame won the last meeting 28-20 in a neutral-site game played in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2022. Only 2 previous games have been played at BYU, each school winning once.
– Rankings: US LBM Coaches Poll, conducted by the American Football Coaches Association and USA TODAY Sports
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Notre Dame at BYU odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 1:49 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Notre Dame -425 (bet $425 to win $100) | BYU +320 (bet $100 to win $320)
- Against the spread (ATS): Notre Dame -10.5 (-110) | BYU +10.5 (-108)
- Over/Under (O/U): 45.5 (O: -110 | U: -108)
Notre Dame at BYU picks and predictions
Prediction
Notre Dame 30, BYU 17
Moneyline
PASS.
BYU will once again be without Martin, their top running back, who was averaging 7.8 yards per carry. With Bachmeier rushing for a career-high 109 yards, it disguised how poorly Martin's replacements fared against Iowa State, as the rest of the team rushed for 68 yards on 22 carries.
It was already going to be a tough task to run against this Notre Dame defense, which is allowing 58.3 rushing yards per game (YPG), third in the nation. Without that threat, it renders BYU one dimensional, and Notre Dame is fairly good against the pass as well, allowing 155.8 passing YPG.
Against the spread
BET NOTRE DAME -10.5 (-110).
During Notre Dame's current winning streak, all 16 wins have come by double digits. They've been about as dominant as a team can be to open the season. They've scored at least 27 points in all 6 games this season and 37 or more points in 5 of the games. Defensively, they've allowed more than 13 points just once.
BYU has a top-10 defense as well, allowing an average of 254.5 yards and 13.4 points per game. The difference will be offense, where I think Notre Dame has a few more weapons at its disposal.
Over/Under
PASS.
My score prediction comes right around the total, which is too close for comfort. I expect the defenses to be the story of this game, so I would lean Under, but I'd feel more comfortable at 49.5, where it opened the week.
Best Prop Bet
Bet NotreDame RB JONAZ WALTON OVER 75+ RUSHING YARDS (+200)
The freshman RB has emerged as Notre Dame's top rushing threat over the last 2 games. If any Irish play is going to approach this mark against the BYU defense, I expect it to be Walton.
Betting odds calculator
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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: Notre Dame Fighting Irish at BYU Cougars odds, picks and predictions
