The No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish played a brand of angry football last week when they went on the road and handed Purdue its worst loss in program history. Now the Irish will return home to Notre Dame Stadium for a game against the winless Miami (OH) RedHawks. It was just two weeks ago, in this very venue, that Notre Dame suffered a stunning loss against another MAC program — Northern Illinois — as a 28.5-point favorite.
That loss was Notre Dame’s first against a MAC opponent in program history after winning its first 10 contests against teams from that conference. This will be the third meeting in series history between Notre Dame and Miami (OH) with the Irish winning the first two by a combined score of 98-17.
Miami (OH) vs. Notre Dame Betting and DFS Preview
All Miami (OH) vs. Notre Dame odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook and are correct as of Tuesday, Sept. 17.
- Spread
Notre Dame -28 - Moneyline
Miami (OH) +2200, Notre Dame -8000 - Over/Under
44 - Game time
3:30 p.m. ET - Location
Notre Dame Stadium | South Bend, Indiana - Predicted Weather at Kick
87 degrees, Sunny with very few clouds and remaining unseasonably warm - How to Watch
NBC/Peacock
The Fighting Irish did their best to distance themselves from the loss to NIU with their performance last week against Purdue. They led the Boilermakers by 42 points before halftime and eventually won by 59. They will look to make that loss appear more of an outlier if they can comfortably cover the spread, which they have done in their other two games thus far in 2024.
Notre Dame is 11-4-1 against the spread since the start of last season, which includes a 4-2-1 mark at Notre Dame Stadium. Over that same time frame, the Irish are 4-1 against the number when favored by 20+ points, with the lone blemish coming two weeks ago at home against the Huskies.
Miami (OH) has failed to cover the spread in each of its outright losses to begin the season, falling as three-point underdogs to both Northwestern (lost by 7) and Cincinnati (lost by 11). The RedHawks are 13-10 ATS in the underdog role over the past five seasons, including a 1-2 ATS mark against AP-ranked opponents over that span.
Top DFS Picks and Fantasy Plays
- QB Brett Gabbert (M-OH)
- QB Riley Leonard (ND)
- RB Keyon Mozee (M-OH)
- RB Jordan Brunson (M-OH)
- RB Jeremiyah Love (ND)
- WR Cade McDonald (M-OH)
- WR Reggie Virgil (M-OH)
- WR Jayden Thomas (ND)
- WR Beaux Collins (ND)
- WR Jaden Greathouse (ND)
- TE Jack Coldiron (M-OH)
- TE Cooper Flanagan (ND)
- TE Mitchell Evans (ND)
Four different Fighting Irish players rushed for touchdowns last week against Purdue (Leonard, Love, Jadarian Price, Kenny Minchey) to mark the first time Notre Dame has accomplished that feat in a single game since Nov. 25, 2000, vs. USC.
While Leonard is still searching for his first touchdown pass in a Notre Dame uniform, he leads the Fighting Irish with four rushing scores this season.
Rushing is an area that appears to significantly favor Notre Dame after Miami was outgained 215-26 on the ground at home last week against Cincinnati.
However, also consider that the Fighting Irish lost two starters on the offensive line against Purdue. Starting center Ashton Craig is done for the season with a knee injury, and starting guard Billy Schrauth is out for several weeks because of an ankle injury.
Prediction for Miami (OH) vs. Notre Dame
Notre Dame’s response last week on the road in Purdue was exactly what their fan base wanted. They probably would have preferred not losing to a Northern Illinois squad in the first place, but nonetheless, consider the Irish with an emphatic passing grade to their first adversity test of the season.
The next comes in the form of a winless Miami (OH) team after losing two starters on the offensive line.
The response here should be the same as Notre Dame has enough talent and depth to overcome the injury bug. A weaker and inferior opponent helps. While Miami (OH) might share the same conference as Northern Illinois, the similar traits might end right there.
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The RedHawks have only scored two offensive touchdowns this season, and their leading rusher has a grand total of 33 yards.
There’s a reason this game opened with a 24-point spread, and it’s up to 28 after nearly 95% of bets against the spread came in on the Irish.
Prediction: Notre Dame 42, Miami (OH) 6
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