No. 3 Notre Dame will continue its College Football Playoff pursuit as it renews an old rivalry on Saturday against Florida State. The two sides have only met eight times, but their matchups in mid-90s had extremely high stakes. The Irish will certainly have plenty on the line in this 7:30 p.m. ET matchup with an undefeated record on the line. News that quarterback Ian Book (ribs) is out and Brandon Wimbush will get the start hasn't affected the latest Notre Dame vs. Florida State odds as kickoff approaches. The Irish are 16.5-point favorites, down only one following Book's designation. The over-under, or total projected points Vegas thinks will be scored, has slid from 55 to 49.5. Before you make and Notre Dame vs. Florida State picks of your own, you'll want to see what SportsLine's Emory Hunt has to say.
Hunt is the founder and CEO of Football Gameplan, which has been supplying analysis of all levels of football since 2007. The former running back joined SportsLine in 2016 and has put his stamp on college football. His expertise has earned him the nickname "The Czar of the Playbook," and Hunt already has spent endless hours breaking down the rosters of FBS clubs. He has been particularly strong handicapping ACC programs, which includes an incredible 10-1 record on spread picks for or against Florida State. Anyone who has followed him is way up.
Now, Hunt has locked in another strong against the spread pick involving the Seminoles. He's only sharing it over at SportsLine.
Hunt knows the Irish haven't exactly dominated all their opponents on their way to an undefeated record. However, their defense gives them a decided advantage every time they take the field, and that should be the case against Florida State.
The Irish are giving up just 19.3 points per game and they've buckled down the last three weeks. In fact, they're giving up fewer than 280 yards per game over that span and are allowing opposing quarterbacks to complete under 55 percent of the passes. That should alleviate the pressure on Wimbush in his first significant action since Week 3.
But just because Notre Dame features a rugged defense doesn't mean the Irish will be able to cover against FSU.
FSU will be raring to go with an opportunity to undermine a rival's national title hopes and give new coach Willie Taggart a signature victory. With Book out, the Seminoles should be even more energized.
They have been able to move the ball through the air, averaging over 280 passing yards per game for the season and over 340 yards in their last three contests. And Florida State has put up those numbers with both James Blackman and Deondre Francois under center.
The Irish defense is strong, but it has proven susceptible to the pass in games against Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt this season.
Hunt has analyzed this matchup from every possible angle and while we can tell you he's leaning over, he has discovered a crucial x-factor that makes one side of the spread a must-back. He's only sharing his pick over at SportsLine.
Who covers Florida State vs. Notre Dame? And which crucial x-factor causes one side of the spread to hit hard? Visit SportsLine now to see which side you should jump on Saturday, all from a seasoned expert who's 10-1 on Florida State picks.
