The Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Louisville Cardinals. Check out our college football odds series for our Notre Dame-Louisville prediction and pick. Find how to watch Notre Dame Louisville.

How big will one play become for Notre Dame this season? How big will one 4th-and-16 scramble by Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman against Duke turn out to be? This game against Louisville will shape the answer to a certain degree, but especially if Notre Dame loses.

Notre Dame entered this season knowing it had three huge games on its schedule. The first was against Ohio State, the second is against USC, and the third one is against Clemson. Notre Dame needed two wins in those three games to be a College Football Playoff contender. It needed one win in those three games to be in good shape for a New Year's Six bowl bid. Notre Dame can still pick up wins against USC or Clemson to burnish its credentials, but if the Irish stumble in another game elsewhere on the schedule, they won't be able to make a New Year's Six game. Last season, they had to settle for the Gator Bowl against South Carolina.

Notre Dame knows the USC game is next week, but the Irish can't get caught looking ahead. They have to focus on Louisville first and enter the USC game with only one loss. Their odds of making the playoff are extremely slim, but the Irish at least want to enter the USC game knowing everything is still on the table. If the Irish lose here, their season is basically over, and people will forget about Hartman's 4th-and-16 run against Duke very quickly.

Here are the Notre Dame-Louisville College Football odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Football Odds: Notre Dame-Louisville Odds

Notre Dame Fighting Irish: -6.5 (-110)

Louisville Cardinals: +6.5 (-110)

Over: 53.5 (-110)

Under: 53.5 (-110)

How To Watch Notre Dame vs Louisville

Time: 7:37 pm ET / 4:37 pm PT

TV: ABC

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Notre Dame Could Cover the Spread

Louisville is unbeaten, but the Cardinals barely beat a not-that-good Georgia Tech team. They were okay but hardly great in a win over Indiana. They were very, very sloppy — and very lucky — in a win over North Carolina State. Louisville is playing hard for new coach Jeff Brohm, and the Cardinals have been resourceful, but no one would say they're an especially good team. Notre Dame hammered the N.C. State team Louisville very narrowly defeated. There's a large talent gap between these teams, and yet Notre Dame isn't even favored by a touchdown. That seems very surprising. Notre Dame minus 6.5 seems like one of the best plays you'll make all year long in college football.

Why Louisville Could Cover the Spread

The Notre Dame offense has struggled this season. The Fighting Irish have a very good quarterback in Sam Hartman, but they don't have the receivers who can get open down the field and transform the passing game. Notre Dame couldn't score 20 points against Ohio State or Duke. That's alarming for a team which certainly expected its offense to be better than it has been so far this season.

Louisville, playing at home and at night on national television, will play with maximum energy and passion. This game will feel like a Super Bowl for the Cardinals, who are overachieving under coach Jeff Brohm and will probably play better than their actual talent level in this game.

Final Notre Dame-Louisville Prediction & Pick

Notre Dame is a lot better than Louisville, especially at quarterback. This is one of the better plays on the board in Week 6: Notre Dame minus the points.

Final Notre Dame-Louisville Prediction & Pick: Notre Dame -6.5