Irish Hope To Continue ACC Dominance vs Florida State

The No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) are 14-1 SU and 7-8 ATS in their last 15 games against teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Fighting Irish will try to earn another win against an ACC team when they visit the Florida State Seminoles (0-0 SU, 0-0 ATS) on Sunday night in Tallahassee.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Fighting Irish opened as 11-point favorites in the early summer lines on this matchup but have since been bet down to Notre Dame -7.5. Early bettors have also favored the UNDER, bumping the line down to 55.5 points from its opener at 56.5 points. Florida State is 2-6 ATS in its last eight games as an underdog.

Notre Dame News & Notes

Notre Dame went 0-2 SU and 1-1 ATS over its last two games of the season against the Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide after going 16-0 SU and 10-6 ATS over its previous 16 games. The Fighting Irish have been a consistent Sportsbook under head coach Brian Kelly with four straight seasons of at least 10 wins, but they haven’t quite been able to get over the top.

This isn’t likely to be the year that Notre Dame breaks through. A manageable schedule should help the Fighting Irish continue their winning ways, but this is a squad that is losing nine starters on offense and a handful of key players on defense as well.

Former Wisconsin quarterback Jack Coan will take over the starting role this season. Coan completed 69.6 percent of his passes for 2,727 yards and 18 touchdowns in his last season with the Badgers.

Florida State News & Notes

Mike Norvell’s first season at Florida State was a rough one as the Seminoles went just 3-6 SU and ATS in the nine games that they played. The Seminoles have recorded three straight losing seasons since Jimbo Fisher left the program in 2017. Norvell is going to need time to turn this subpar squad around, especially after last year’s COVID-19 compromised season made it difficult to evaluate talent and to set up normal coaching protocols.

Former UCF star quarterback McKenzie Milton transfered to Florida State this offseason, which should help the offense. Norvell still hasn’t committed to Milton as the starter, however, as both Milton and last season’s dual-threat starter, Jordan Travis, are listed together atop the depth chart for this game. Regardless of who’s under center, the Seminoles will likely be playing from behind a lot this season with a shaky and depleted defense.

Staff Betting Pick: Florida State +7.5

The Fighting Irish are the significantly better team on paper in this matchup and would likely win by double digits at a neutral location. But with nine new starters on offense in what will be a very hostile environment, look for Notre Dame to struggle enough to let the Seminoles keep this one close.