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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Duke Blue Devils. Check out our college football odds series for our Notre Dame Duke prediction and pick. Find how to watch Notre Dame Duke.
This will be a very fascinating game for a lot of different reasons. For one thing, Duke enters this game with a better record. How many times could it ever be said that Duke and Notre Dame met on the gridiron with the Blue Devils having a better record than the Fighting Irish? A second notable plot point is that Duke head coach Mike Elko is a former Notre Dame defensive coordinator, having helped Brian Kelly build some very good teams in South Bend before Kelly went to LSU and Elko went to Texas A&M to help Jimbo Fisher and then went to Duke for his first big head coaching job.
A third big aspect of this game is that Notre Dame is coming off a gut-punch loss to Ohio State, losing with one second left when it had only 10 men on the field coming out of a timeout. That level of disorganization has been a constant talking point in the press, and head coach Marcus Freeman knows he messed up. Can the coaching staff and the team bounce back from that defeat, or will that series of events take a toll the Irish won't recover from?
This is not a conference game, but if Duke wins this game, the Blue Devils — having already defeated Clemson — would have a very realistic path to a New Year's Six bowl game, which would be a spectacular achievement for the program. Elko is seen as a distinct possibility for the open head coaching job at Michigan State. Whether he wants that job — or will be offered it — is anyone's guess, but Elko is a big name in the coaching industry right now, and a win over the Irish would dramatically elevate his level of visibility.
Here are the Notre Dame-Duke College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Football Odds: Notre Dame-Duke Odds
Notre Dame Fighting Irish: -5.5 (-110)
Duke Blue Devils: +5.5 (-110)
Over: 52.5 (-115)
Under: 52.5 (-105)
How To Watch Notre Dame vs Duke
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TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN plus
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT
*Watch Notre Dame vs Duke LIVE on fuboTV (click for free trial)*
Why Notre Dame Could Cover the Spread
Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman has plenty of familiarity with Duke, having played with Wake Forest in the ACC. He will be familiar with Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham. The game will be a homecoming of sorts — not to a campus where he was part of the student body, but to a campus he set foot on as a visiting ACC player. You know that Hartman is burning with frustration after the loss to Ohio State. If he takes control of this game and makes big plays, Duke's defense won't be able to keep pace with the Irish.
Why Duke Could Cover the Spread
The Blue Devils are good. They are physical. They can control the ball and keep it away from Sam Hartman. Quarterback Riley Leonard is a decent passer but a really good runner. He is not easy to bring down and he gets tough yards in short-yardage situations. Duke can physically compete with Notre Dame. The Blue Devils are not going to be overpowered at the line of scrimmage. Also, ND doesn't have the fast playmaking receivers who can really test the Duke secondary. The Devils' defense will be ready for the Irish.
Final Notre Dame-Duke Prediction & Pick
This is a game you should stay away from. ND could win by six and cover, and yet that would reflect a very close and competitive game. The point spread is hard to bet on either side.
Final Notre Dame-Duke Prediction & Pick: Duke +5.5
