Vegas Pac 12 Predictions Week 11: Why Utah will Upset Oregon and Notre Dame will Beat Arizona State

Nov 1, 2014; Landover, MD, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Everett Golson (5) celebrates with wide receiver Amir Carlisle (3) and wide receiver William Fuller (7) after a touchdown in the second quarter against the Navy Midshipmen at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish at No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils

Line: Arizona State by 2.5

Saturday Blitz Vegas Pac 12 Prediction: Notre Dame Wins 45-31

It’s about time to bring Arizona State back to reality. The Sun Devils have slowly been gaining back respect by consistently winning over the past few weekends, and it’s respect that is well-deserved. But now, with the nation taking notice, that is going to come crashing down on them, just the way it did when they played UCLA a few weeks ago.

The Sun Devils defense can’t be as good as it has looked over the past three weeks, and Taylor Kelly is still not looking great coming back from injury. Notre Dame, behind Everett Golson, is going to be able to turn this game into a shootout, and Kelly won’t be able to handle it.

By the fourth quarter, Wildcats fans will wish Todd Graham had put Mike Bercovici in, who seems better-equipped to handle a shootout right now because Kelly still looks, rusty. Or injured. Or both.

The Fighting Irish are not getting enough respect right now, and that changes on Saturday. They beat Arizona State in a convincing way on the road, making sure that there will be no Pac-12 teams with less than 2 losses after Oregon loses as well Saturday.

Next: Washington State-Oregon State Prediction