The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0, 0-0 Away) will visit the Virginia Cavaliers (0-1, 0-0 Home) on Saturday, September 12, 2015 at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. The game will televise at 3:30 PM ET on ABC. The current odds list Notre Dame as an 11.5-point favorite with the over/under set at 47.5.
Notre Dame is coming in off a 38-3 win over Texas. Malik Zaire went 19 of 22 for 313 yards and three touchdowns in the game. CJ Prosise had 98 yards on 20 carries. Josh Adams also rushed for 49 yards and added two touchdowns. Notre Dame ran the ball 50 times using nine different players. William Fuller led all receivers with 142 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Brown had 38 yards including one touchdown. The Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last seven games overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five games vs. a team with a losing record.
Virginia is coming in off a 34-16 loss to UCLA. Matt Johns went 21 for 35 with 238 yards and one touchdown in the game. He also threw one interception. Taquan Mizzell had 16 carries for just 45 yards and Albert Reid added 31 yards on 12 carries. Mizzell also added 100 yards receiving on eight catches and one touchdown. Canaan Severin brought in five catches for 58 yards. The Cavaliers are 4-0-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games and 9-4-2 ATS in their last 15 games overall.
My Pick: Virginia +11.5
We did not get a good look at Virginia in the first game and Notre Dame looked impressive. I am not a fan of giving this many points on the road so I will go with Virginia in this one. I am looking for them to bounce back and put up a fight in this one. They will have to find a way to establish their run if they want any chance in winning this one.