No. 11 Notre Dame vs. North Carolina picks and best bets for Week 8

We have a pseudo-ACC matchup under the lights on Saturday as the No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcomes the North Carolina Tar Heels to South Bend. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.

Notre Dame (6-1) has started to get some of their mojo back and controlled their rivalry game with USC last week for a 31-16 win. The brief quarterback controversy in South Bend has seemingly been put to rest with Jack Coan having a solid outing against the Trojans. The real star was running back Kyren Williams, who broke off 138 yards and two touchowns in the victory.

North Carolina (4-3, 3-3 ACC) is fresh off a bye week, having previously taken down Miami for a 45-42 victory the Saturday prior. Starting QB Sam Howell isn’t having the breakout Heisman caliber season some anticipated heading into the year, but he’s still putting up solid numbers. The junior has thrown for 1,851 yards, 18 touchdowns, and six interceptions through seven games.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Notre Dame: 14th overall, 34th offense, 13th defense
North Carolina: 16th overall, 6th offense, 54th defense

Injury update

Notre Dame

Safety Kyle Hamilton Out - Knee

DB Paul Moala Questionable - Achilles

RB Chris Tyree Questionable - Toe

TE Kevin Bauman Questionable - Undisclosed

LB Prince Kollie Questionable - Undisclosed

North Carolina

RB Josh Henderson Out - Expected to transfer

RB Caleb Hood Questionable - Upper Body

WR J.J. Jones Questionable - Upper Body

WR Tylee Craft Questionable - Lower Body

DB Storm Duck Questionable - Lower Body

DL Kristian Varner Questionable - Undisclosed

RB British Brooks Questionable - Undisclosed

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Notre Dame: 4-3 ATS
North Carolina: 3-4 ATS

Total

Notre Dame: Over 4-3
North Carolina: Over 4-3

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Notre Dame: 10th overall, 6th offense, 13th defense
North Carolina: 15th overall, 33rd offense, 23rd defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Notre Dame -3.5
Total: 62.5
Moneyline: Notre Dame -180, North Carolina +155

Opening line: Notre Dame -3.5
Opening total: 62.5

Weather

46 degrees, 7 MPH Winds NW, 20% chance of rain

The Pick

Notre Dame -3.5

Notre Dame still has issues but this is the part of the season where they’ll typically round in the form. A chilly night in South Bend favors the Irish over their opponents from Chapel Hill and at 3.5, they should be able to easily cover here.

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