No. 16 BYU at Notre Dame Odds, Prediction for Week 6

No. 16 BYU Cougars

A fun matchup here between two teams that don't belong to any conference on Saturday night. BYU has been pretty disappointing over their last few games after starting out the season on fire and gaining national attention. Last time out, BYU hosted rivals Utah State and won, 38-26, but failed to cover the spread. Through five games, BYU is scoring 34.4 points per game and are gaining 445.4 yards per game, 293.2 through the air and 152.2 on the ground. Defensively, the Cougars are averaging 26.4 points against, and 335.4 yards allowed, 175.6 passing and 159.8 rushing.

Before the win over Utah State, BYU was demolished by a very questionable Oregon Ducks team on the road, so there are serious questions about whether or not the Cougars are legit. That is indicative of the line in this game, with unranked Notre Dame being over a field goal favorite in this game against ranked BYU.

That usually doesn't happen unless the books don't believe in a team, and it is clear they don't have much faith in BYU considering how bad this Irish offense has been overall this season.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

It is weird seeing Notre Dame not be ranked, they haven't been this bad to start a season in close to a decade. They have won their last two games after losing their first two of the season to Ohio State and Marshall. That loss to the Thundering Herd ended their season for all intents and purposes, but there is still a season to play out.

After four games, Notre Dame is scoring 25.0 points per game and gaining 369.3 yards per game, 209.3 through the air and 160.0 on the ground. Defensively, the Fighting Irish are averaging 24.0 points against, and 355.5 yards allowed, 213.3 passing and 142.3 rushing.

Those certainly aren't the best stats, but that doesn't seem to matter much for the books after making them favorites. Notre Dame visited North Carolina, two weeks back, and left with an impressive, 45-32 win. They got back on track offensively against a terrible defense, and we'll see what they can do against BYU. QB Drew Pyne went 24-for-34 for 289 yards, three touchdowns, and zero interceptions. Notre Dame ran the ball 51 times for 287 yards, a 5.6 average, and three touchdowns in the win.

BYU at Notre Dame Prediction: BYU +3.5

Notre Dame won the last meeting, back in 2005, and leads the all-time series 4-2. The Irish by more than a field goal is a tough one, and it feels like a trap line to me, so I might not bet the game because of that. Notre Dame usually always plays well at home, but the fact is that they haven't at all in 2022. BYU has also looked off, especially on defense, over the past few weeks.

I don't 100% trust Notre Dame still to be the team they were supposed to be, nor do I trust Marcus Freeman. I'd take the points if anything, but that also feels like a trap.