Louisville vs Notre Dame Odds, Lines and Spread
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish host the Louisville Cardinals in South Bend at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC
- Brian Kelly’s crew has climbed to No. 4 in the latest AP and are 17.5-point favorites Saturday
- See odds, spread and best bets for the game within the preview below
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish close out their season opening four game home-stand against the Louisville Cardinals in a Week 7 tilt slated for a 2:30 p.m. ET kickoff on NBC between a pair of new-fangled ACC rivals.
The Irish are now ranked No. 4 in the latest AP poll – the program’s highest position in the poll since getting to No. 3 in 2018 before eventually losing to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.
Meanwhile, Louisville is playing its third-straight road game and comes into South Bend as a 17.5-point underdog.
Louisville vs #4 Notre Dame Week 7 Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisville Cardinals | +17.5 (-115) | +520 | O 64.5 (-110) |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | -17.5 (-105) | -800 | U 64.5 (-110) |
Odds taken Oct. 14 on FanDuel
The Irish are coming off a 42-26 win over Florida State in Week 6 that saw Notre Dame start a little slow for a second straight game. But thanks to over 300 yards rushing – keyed by breakout running back Kyren Williams’ 185-yard performance – the home team put away the ‘Noles for their second conference victory.
As for the Cardinals, turnovers played a big part in their 46-27 loss to Georgia Tech. Scott Satterfield’s club lost three fumbles on a rainy night in Atlanta and surrendered a two-touchdown lead in losing their third straight contest.
Both teams score lots of points. The over has come through in three of Louisville’s four games and two of Notre Dame’s three outings. The teams’ respective ATS marks a more inconsistent. You can take a closer look at the Louisville vs Notre Dame odds to see the latest trends.
Budding Superstar
Williams has been a revelation in the early going of 2020. The sophomore tailback has put up 359 rushing yards and 114 receiving yards (on only six catches) in the first three games. He accounted for over 200 all-purpose yards against Duke and was held mostly in check by South Florida. But FSU wasn’t nearly as successful.
It appears as Williams goes, so go the Irish. The Cardinals are ranked No. 43 in the country in rushing defense, allowing 156.8 yards per game on the ground to opponents. Louisville has also allowed eight rushing touchdowns through its first four games.
If Williams goes off – which he should be able to do against a porous UL front – Notre Dame will put up plenty of points.
Misleading Mark
Even though Satterfield’s team is 1-3, that record might be a little misleading. Following a season-opening 35-21 victory over Western Kentucky, UL hosted Miami in primetime, losing 47-34 in the second game of the season.
The Cardinals lost a close one at Pittsburgh, 23-20, before that loss to the Ramblin’ Wreck last week. But as noted above, if it weren’t for those turnovers against the Yellow Jackets, this team could very well be 2-2.
Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly knows his opponent this week features a dynamic offense.
“Cunningham at the quarterback position does a great job of running the offense. Their scheme is well coached and well executed and it’s surrounded with some talented offensive players,” Kelly told reporters Monday.
Malik Cunningham threw for a pair of scores and ran for two more against Tech. Kelly also praised running back Javian Hawkins, who is No. 3 in the country with 468 rushing yards.
The Irish have proven to be slow starters in each of their games this season. If the prolific Louisville offense can get things going early, it might be a more competitive game than the sharps expect.
Betting Angle
The number I’m clearly all over for this one is the over. At 64.5, the total is relatively low considering these teams regularly hang in the 30s.
Also, when you look at the short series history (this is the third matchup between the two programs in the last seven seasons), the winning team has put up 31 and 35 points respectively. The Cards won 31-28 in 2014, while the Irish won 35-17 last year.
But this year’s game has the feel of a potential shootout. Louisville is no doubt road weary, facing it’s third straight game away from home, and another sluggish defensive performance would not be a surprise. On the other side, the Irish need to continue building up style points if they want to remain in the top five.
The pick: Over 64.5 (-110)
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
