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USATSI

The No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) will host the Northern Illinois Huskies (1-0) on Saturday afternoon. Expectations are even higher for Notre Dame than they were before the season started, as the Fighting Irish went on the road and beat then-No. 20 Texas A&M last week. They outscored the Aggies 10-0 in the final two minutes to break a 13-13 tie. Northern Illinois cruised to a 54-15 win over Western Illinois at home in its opener last week. 

Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame is favored by 28.5 points in the latest Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois odds, while the over/under is 45.5 points, per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame picks, you'll want to see the college football predictions from the model at SportsLine.

The model simulates every FBS college football game 10,000 times. Since its inception, it has generated a profit of over $2,000 for $100 players on its top-rated college football picks against the spread. It is also coming off a profitable 13-9 season on top-rated spread picks. Anyone who has followed it has seen strong returns.

The model has set its sights on Northern Illinois-Notre Dame. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college football betting lines for the game:

  • Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois spread: Notre Dame -28.5
  • Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois over/under: 45.5 points
  • Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois picks: See picks here

Why Notre Dame can cover

Notre Dame jumped into the top five of the polls this week following its impressive win at then-No. 20 Texas A&M last week. The Fighting Irish came up with some big plays down the stretch in front of a rowdy crowd, as Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard picked up his first win under head coach Marcus Freeman. Leonard completed 18 of 30 passes for 158 yards while rushing 12 times for 63 yards. 

Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love rushed 14 times for 91 yards and a touchdown, averaging 6.5 yards per carry. The Fighting Irish were even more impressive defensively, as defenders Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler both came up with an interception. They have covered the spread in six of their last seven games dating back to last season. See which team to pick here. 

Why Northern Illinois can cover

Northern Illinois likely only needs to score a few times to stay within the huge spread on Saturday, and its offense certainly looks capable after last week. The Huskies scored 54 points in their win over Western Illinois, racking up 31 first downs and 706 total yards. Quarterback Ethan Hampton was brilliant, completing 18 of 20 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns. 

His top targets were Trayvon Rudolph (four catches, 104 yards) and Grayson Barnes (five catches, 95 yards). Notre Dame is going to be playing without wide receiver Jordan Faison, who sprained his ankle and will miss the next 1-2 weeks. The Huskies have covered the spread in five of their last seven Saturday games. See which team to pick here. 

How to make Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois picks

The model has simulated Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.

So who wins Notre Dame vs. Northern Illinois, and which side of the spread hits well over 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Northern Illinois vs. Notre Dame spread to jump on, all from the advanced computer model that's up over $2,000 on its top-rated college football spread picks since its inception, and find out.