Top Picks And Best Plays For Louisville - Notre Dame: Betting Insight For This Weekend

Written by Cade Harper | Contributor | Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT

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Anybody down to cash some parlays or straights for this weekends game? Well, you've come to the right place. We're going to be breaking down the best picks for you to bet on across different sports books for Notre Dame - Louisville. We will have a ton of options to choose from, and we hope that you find something else to root and cheer on for besides a win from the Irish! Always remember to please bet responsibly.

Spread And Over/Under

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First pick on our board is taking the favored spread at Notre Dame -6. (-110 per DraftKings). The Irish have covered 5 times out of 6 this season, only loss being not covering -35 vs Central Michigan in week 4. Louisville is currently 2-2 with a push against the spread this season. I like the chances covering that 6, even if it means scoring in the last 30 seconds again, although we hope it doesn't come to that. The second pick I feel somewhat confident in is the Over 54 points (-110 per DraftKings). The offense has lacked that explosiveness since starting out putting up 40+ points in 4 straight games to begin the season. Since then, the Irish have put up a team total of 35 points from the last 2 weeks. I'm wholeheartedly relying on the offense here to carry this over. The Cardinal defense is ranked within the top 30 in just about all categories of defense including yards per game, rushing yards per game, total defense, and passing yards per game. The Irish, who on paper, had the best offense across all FBS teams to start out those first four games have fallen a decent margin. I like the chances of rejuvenating that spark on offense this Saturday. The third and final pick of this parlay, if you choose to do so, is the first quarter and first half moneyline - also for Notre Dame. First half ML is currently at -192 per DraftKings and first quarter ML is set at -180 per DraftKings. Now these may not be your average bets that you would place, but thanks to some research, you might change your mind. Notre Dame has not trailed in the first quarter nor first half at all this season, except for trailing 3-0 vs Ohio St in the first half in the final 30 seconds. Matter of fact, the Irish have been up at least a touchdown or even more in all of these games so far this season. They hit this line just last week at Duke when they led 10-0 at the half as well as 7-0 at the end of the first quarter. You can choose to put these as straights or parlay on DraftKings for some decent odds at +345.

Favorite Player Props

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I have a lot of player props that I love this week. Some I feel a little lopsided on, and some that I flat out would avoid at all costs. We have a total of 5 to choose from so bear with me as we go through these to break them down so it's the best option for you. Starting out, we have Audric Estime being an anytime touchdown scorer at a whopping -400 per FanDuel. Estime has scored at least once in all games this season except for Ohio State in week 4. This touchdown can come from rushing or even receiving. The amount of carries he gets in the red zone is exactly why I love this pick. Just a matter if Notre Dame can manage to establish the ground and pound early unlike last week. My first bold pick of the week, is Mitchell Evans with an anytime touchdown score listed at -115 per FanDuel. He has not scored yet this season, however I want to hope he earns his first here this weekend. I've been rooting for him and Staes ever since the Irish lost Mayer, and this is his moment after his career game last week at Duke putting up a team high 6 catches, 134 yards. Another prop I like this week but am a little skeptical on, is Hartman over 1.5 passing touchdowns at -182 per FanDuel. Hartman, like a lot of others, hasn't hit his line since the Central Michigan game. However, he has been consistent throwing the ball a certain amount all season long at a good range of 25-30 attempts per game, and having a completion rating of 66.2% all season. Again, I like the chances of backing up the over here and reigniting that offensive spark. Mitchell Evans over 50.5 receiving yards is a line I would be going all in on. Over the course of these last few weeks, Evans has established himself as the Irish's top leading receiver in catches and yards despite other stars at the WR position being out due to injury in Jaden Greathouse and Jayden Thomas. I'm expecting Evans to keep his hot streak alive this weekend as we have him on two player props for this week as the bold picks of the week. These are all of the Notre Dame player props I would recommend for this weekend's game. Now I wouldn't parlay all of these personally, but out of these I recommend choosing your 2-3 favorites and put them together with our spread/ML pick(s).

Final Game Predictions

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I always hated doing predictions because I didn't want to end up on a Twitter/X post being kept for "receipts". With that being said, we're doing it anyway. I think the offense shows up finally and gets their groove back having Thomas and Greathouse possibly returning. Nolan Ziegler is also expected to return, so it looks like we may see the Irish at a 90% healthy status rating coming into this weekend if these final practices go according to plan. We've discussed the odds of the spread and player props, but now let's talk final score. I think Estime and Love have a solid day in the backfield as well as Hartman feeling comfortable in the pocket as he looks to continue his turnover-less streak. The defense will definitely make some plays and force some turnovers as NC State did last week forcing three on Jack Plummer. Hopefully we see some pressure from the defensive line as they improved last week getting to Riley Leonard. Thankfully, Plummer is not as mobile as Leonard. However, they may make some mistakes dealing with the nation's 7th leading rusher in all purpose yards in Jawhar Jordan, who has had an exceptional year. Then again, I have the Irish winning their 31st consecutive ACC game and their second consecutive ranked game under the lights on primetime. I believe Hartman gets his revenge from traveling to Louisville from last season, give me the Irish in a fun 34 - 21 win. Again, please bet responsibly!