College Football: Best Bets and Player Props for Louisville at Notre Dame

Entering Week 5 of the college football season, there are quite a few notable matchups scheduled between ranked programs. One of the ranked games on Saturday pits the No. 15 Louisville Cardinals against the No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Louisville is a perfect 3-0 entering Week 5, with their latest win being a 31-19 victory over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Week 4. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has outscored the Purdue Boilermakers and Miami (OH) RedHawks by a combined score of 94-10 in the last two weeks following their narrow loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies in Week 2.

Using the college football odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, let's take a look at the best bets for Saturday's Louisville-Notre Dame clash that kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET.

All college football odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Louisville at Notre Dame Betting Picks

Beaux Collins Over 38.5 Receiving Yards (-114)

The Fighting Irish haven't gotten much going in their passing game with Riley Leonard under center, ranking 91st in expected points added per pass (-0.05) through four contests. That being said, the Cardinals are worse against the pass (55th in defensive pass success rate) than the run (T-4th in rushing defensive success rate), and Beaux Collins has been the most consistent wideout for Notre Dame.

Besides leading the Fighting Irish in targets (21), receptions (16), and receiving yards (176), Collins is producing the third-most yards per route run (1.80) on the roster, per PFF. Collins has played the most passing snaps (104) on ND's offense, which is 21 more snaps than the next player.

While the Fighting Irish have cruised in the last two weeks on the back of their rushing attack against inferior teams, they'll need to get some production from their passing game to keep up with the Cardinals -- who have the fifth-ranked offense in expected points added per play (0.47).

Even though Leonard's passing volume isn't ideal, Collins appears to be the clear No. 1 wideout for Notre Dame entering Saturday's matchup versus Louisville.

Louisville +6.5 (-110)

Ahead of kick off on Saturday, most of the attention will naturally be on Louisville's offense going up against Notre Dame's defense. The Cardinals are ranked 14th in offensive success rate (49.7%) and the Fighting Irish are tied for the 39th-best defensive success rate (35.9%).

The deciding factor in this game might be how consistently Notre Dame's offense can move the ball as they are just 70th in offensive success rate (42.5%) and 57th in expected points added per drive (0.45). Louisville's defense shouldn't go completely overlooked as it is 15th in defensive success rate (32.4%), and they are better against the run -- which is where Notre Dame excels on offense.

Forcing Leonard to put the ball in the air more should help the Cardinals keep this game close enough to cover the spread. If Notre Dame has to turn to its passing attack, they will likely stall at times on offense. On the other hand, a Tyler Shough-led Louisville offense can make enough plays to keep Notre Dame's defense on the field longer than it would prefer, making another upset in South Bend a possibility.

For what it's worth, the Cardinals have covered the spread in all four meetings with the Fighting Irish since 2014, including in last year's 33-20 victory at home over ND.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.