Notre Dame football looks to breeze past Bowling Green in Week 6

After two grueling weeks, the schedule gets a bit lighter for Notre Dame football as its takes on the Bowling Green Falcons at home.

Consecutive matchups vs top 25 ranked teams often pose problems, but the Irish held their own and kept their playoff hopes alive despite a close loss at the hands of Georgia. Most encouraging of all was the team’s effort against Virginia (especially on the defensive side of the ball), a game that proved the Irish are serious about contending for yet another playoff berth.

The Irish have intriguing matchups against USC and Michigan to be played this month, but they’ll have to put down Bowling Green if either of those games are to truly matter. To be frank, Bowling Green will likely be the worst team the Irish play this season. But that doesn’t mean they’ll go down without a fight.

With former defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder heading the Falcons defense, there’s a little more to be played for if you’re Bowling Green. Nevertheless, the Irish will look to take care of them just like they would any other team, regardless of any lingering bad blood. Here’s how to watch it all go down this weekend:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 5
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: South Bend, Ind.
Venue: Notre Dame Stadium
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Live

Keys to Victory

Truth be told, a lot of things could go wrong before the Irish even come close to losing this game. However, the last thing head coach Brian Kelly would want to see is his team come out flat against a struggling Bowling Green team. The ties between Kelly and VanGorder may play a role, but the Irish would be best off treating this game like any other.

That means establishing a strong run game, something that shouldn’t be all too difficult against this defensive front. While it may not be do or die for the Irish in this one, it would be nice if this game served as another confidence booster for Book (his 360 passing yard game against New Mexico was a big bonus). We all know there’s a good chance he needs it.

Betting Odds

Odds provided by Bovada

Point Spread: Notre Dame -46.5
Over/Under: 61.5

Prediction

After keeping up with Georgia and handling Virginia at home, all signs point to this one being a lopsided affair. The defense should put on quite the show, and chances are the offense will be firing on all cylinders. Look for the Irish to leave this one without a doubt in front of their home crowd.

Final Score: Bowling Green 10, Notre Dame 63