Notre Dame Football: Irish look to avoid hangover vs. Ball State

After taking down Michigan in an impressive Week 1 showing, Notre Dame football looks to avoid a steep upset at the hands of the Ball State Cardinals.

Notre Dame spent Saturday cutting down Michigan’s series lead to 24-17-1 while Ball State cruised to a 42-6 victory over Central Connecticut State on Thursday. After playing in front of an electric Notre Dame Stadium against the Wolverines, Notre Dame will shift to a 3:30 p.m. ET start time with significantly less hype.

Despite both programs being around for quite a while, this matchup will mark the first meeting between the two. However, both programs are in completely different positions. Notre Dame, often a contender midway through the season, and Ball State, a team that has only cracked the AP top 25 once in their existence.

Here’s how to watch as both teams look to push themselves to two wins this weekend.

Date: Saturday, Sep. 8
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Live Stream or FuboTV

Keys to Victory

If the Irish are able to play at the same level as they did against Michigan, this game could get ugly fast. In fact, this game will likely get ugly fast even if they don’t play at the same caliber as they did against the Wolverines. Plain and simple, the Irish need to make the right plays and let their talent do the rest. This game will also provide a decent opportunity to iron out any remaining kinks.

The Cardinals face a more uphill battle here. As a team that finished 125th in points allowed last season, there aren’t going to be any overnight changes. The best bet Ball State has here is to capitalize on the Irish special teams should they struggle similarly to last week. Even with that, the Cardinals will need all-around exceptional play in order to pull off what would be a historic upset.

Betting Odds

Odds provided by Odds Shark

Point Spread: Notre Dame -34
Over/Under: 62.5

Prediction

Notre Dame typically doesn’t let outmatched opponents hang around for too long, but there were a few games last season that took some unneeded stress into halftime. Look for the Irish to handle business early before piling on throughout the rest of the game. We may even be able to catch some significant action from the reserves should the game get out of hand early.

Final Score: Ball State 10, Notre Dame 52