Notre Dame comes into this one fresh of a monster victory at Virginia Tech which now sets the Irish up for a strong run at a BCS playoff spot. They should find themselves favored in every game the rest of the way. Is that single game inflating this 21 point spread? Mike Mann takes a look and gives his prediction.
Notre Dame heads down to Blacksburg to battle Virginia Tech in a primetime Saturday night game on ABC. This is only the second all time meeting between the teams, with the Hokies having won the only prior matchup 34-31 back in 2016 as a 2 point road dog. The spread is inside a touchdown once again for Saturday’s matchup. Mike Mann looks at the game and predicts if we will see another close game from these two teams.
With a win to bring the club to 500 and some key pieces returning for week 5, the New England Patriots suddenly feel like a team with momentum. The sportsbook’s line reflects that with a Pats -10 spread at home. Mike Mann makes his NFL week 5 pick here and breaks down injuries, match-ups and team trends.
Stanford heads to Notre Dame for a Saturday night battle in the Bend. The Irish lead the all time series 19-13, but it’s been Stanford that’s had the upper hand of late winning he last three consecutive games and going 6-2 over the last eight since Brian Kelly arrived in Indiana.
The Patriots have lost back-to-back games only nine times since Tom Brady took over as quarterback in 2001, and the fact that they were so clearly outplayed in both their previous games only adds another level of concern from an already hyper-reactionary fan and media base. See why Mike Mann believes the Pats will get it done and cover the -6.5.
Matthew Stafford was able to turn things around with a three touchdown game against San Francisco. He’s looking forward to a match-up against a Patriots defense that ranks 20th or below in every major defensive category and over their last couple games against pocket passers have gotten lit up by Nick Foles and Blake Bortles. But the Pats win over 80% of their last 52 games after a loss… and they have Tom Brady as well as a 6 point spread. Mike Mann goes in depth.
The Illini have a one advantage they may use to keep this contest close, their rushing offense. Penn State’s defense gives up 148.3 yards per game on the ground (68th nationally). This helps a team whose running game has produced 244.3 yards per (23rd nationally). Is this enough for Illinois to keep the game within 28? Mike Mann gives his opinion and his college football pick.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish head south to take on Wake Forest in an early Saturday afternoon game at BB&T Field in Winston-Salem. The teams have met four times since 2011 with Notre Dame winning all of the match ups, including a 48-37 victory in South Bend last season. Will Notre Dame make it 5 in a row and 4-0 on their season? Mike Mann breaks down the game and gives his prediction.
The Pats and Jags run it back! They last played each other in a classic in the AFC Championship Game. The Jaguars led the Patriots at halftime as well as at the end of the third quarter. Then, Thomas Edward Clutch Brady led New England to score the final fourteen points of the game and a 24-20 victory. Is this Pats team too short-staffed to give the same effort? Mike Mann breaks it down!
Mike Mann makes his pick between Vanderbilt vs. Notre Dame, who play Saturday 9/15/2018. Sportsbooks have Notre Dame as 2 touchdowns better than Vandy. Mike breaks it down by the numbers!