The 2-0 California Golden Bears take on the 0-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The Golden Bears are heavy underdogs, but should they be? Read on for our detailed analysis and California vs Notre Dame best bets.
California Golden Bears vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
California Golden Bears Current Odds
The California Golden Bears (+340) are eleven-point underdogs in this contest and are 1-1 against the spread this season.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Current Odds
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (-420) are favored in this contest by eleven points and are 1-1 against the spread and 0-1 at home this season.
California Golden Bears Strengths and Weakness
Strengths:
The main strength of the Golden Bears is absolutely their 4-star freshman running back Jordyn Ott. Last week against UC Davis, Ott had 104 yards and 6.1 yards per rush.
California also has a decent receiving core in Michael Sturdivant, Marvin Anderson, and Jeremiah Hunter, who averaged 18.5 yards per catch last season and is a legit deep threat.
Weaknesses:
Quarterback Jack Plummer. Although not necessarily horrible, Plummer just needs a lot of help to beat you.
Overall, the Golden Bears simply do not have great talent at all their positions, and their greatest returning offensive lineman Ben Coleman has moved from guard to tackle and is really struggling.
In the red zone is where the Golden Bears really struggling, ranked 97th in the country in red zone touchdown percentage.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish Strengths and Weakness
Strengths:
The biggest strength for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is by far their defense, and if they are to have any chance of having a productive season, it will be on the shoulders of their defense.
As a unit, the Fighting Irish are very strong on defense, with no real holes in their passing or their run defense.
Weakness:
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish has a serious problem at the quarterback position. After injuring his should in last week’s loss to Marshall, starting quarterback Tyler Buchner is likely out for the season.
Buchner has struggled through two games this season, throwing for 378 yards and two interceptions with no touchdowns in 50 pass attempts.
Third-year sophomore Drew Payne was 3-6, 20 yards, TD, and an INt in the fourth quarter last Saturday after coming in for Buchner. Freshman Steve Angeli will back up Payne going forward.
California vs. Notre Dame Season Forecast
Season Forecast for California Golden Bears:
The NCAAF schedule was quite generous to the Golden Bears, and the Califorinia stats are indicative of that but should not be misconstrued.
The California Golden Bears are 2-0, but they have quite a few losses coming in their future, starting with Notre Dame this week. I would be surprised to see them win six games.
Season Forecast for Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
The Notre Dame football team was projected to dominate the NCAAF standings with total wins set at 8.5 games this season, and after starting off 0-2 and losing Tyler Buchner, nine games is not going to happen.
Seven or eight games is still realistic for the Fighting Irish, and they will be off to a good start Saturday against the Golden Bears.
What to Expect from this Matchup?
Expect just what the spread indicates for this contest, a Notre Dame blowout.
The Fighting Irish will suffocate the offense of the Golden Bears and seemingly score at will on the defense of California.
This game will easily be over by halftime.
California Golden Bears vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prediction and Best Bests
California vs Notre Dame best bets:
Best bet: Under 40½
The Fighting Irish will score points in bunches, but the Golden Bears will not. This matchup could easily be a shutout.
Best Bet: Notre Dame Fighting Irish -11
Notre Dame simply has too much talent that the Golden Bears will not be able to contend with, making this the top of my California vs Notre Dame best bets.
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