North Carolina State Wolfpack vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish: How to watch, start time, betting line and predictions
NORTH CAROLINA STATE OUTLOOK
If you want to watch a good NFL draft prospect, I suggest you tune in to Bradley Chubb. The Wolfpack's star defensive lineman is a major threat, and could line up against two other potential draft picks in Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson. If you don't usually watch the trenches in this one, I suggest you pay attention, because it's going to be a battle.
NC State's defense, led by Chubb, needs to give their star a little more support, especially this week. The Wolfpack defense isn't bad, but they're giving up 22.7 points per game and rank towards the middle in total defense. Even though their offense is explosive, winning shootouts isn't something the Wolfpack defense wants to get into. Like I mentioned earlier, the trenches are going to be a place to watch, and might determine the outcome of the game. The sixth best rushing offense faces the six best rushing defense, so whoever wins that battle may win the game.
While Jaylen Samuels can't play defense, Dave Doeren may want to consider it. Ok, probably not but Samuels has been an integral role in just about every facet of their offense. He's thrown for 25 yards, rushed for 191, and caught 54 passes for 453 yards. Throw in 10 total touchdowns and you see that he's their most dangerous weapon. Ryan Finley has appreciated the production, as he know who his most reliable receiver is, and can hand the ball to him as well to pick up yards. The X-Factor in this game for their offense will be Nyheim Hines. The running back has shown his explosive potential, and does damage as a returner as well.
NOTRE DAME OUTLOOK
Brian Kelly's seat was looking fairly hot coming into this year, and I'm sure there were fans who thought that it was getting hotter after the Georgia loss just two games into the season. That loss seems like a distant memory, and last week's beatdown of USC erased any concerns about Kelly's job security. His two hires this offseason are two big reasons for Notre Dame's success.
Offensive coordinator Chip Long was snagged from Memphis after last year, and his effect on the offense is noticeable. With Deshone Kizer leaving for the NFL, Long had to break in a new quarterback to a new system. Brandon Wimbush's ability was relatively unknown coming into this year, but we knew that he had the pieces around him to succeed. And boy has he done that. The junior dual threat has shown improvement as a passer and is explosive running the ball as well. Players like Josh Adams, Equanimeous St. Brown, and the aforementioned Nelson and McGlinchey make life easier too. Long's turned the Irish into one of the better offenses in the nation, and the 6-1 record can be contributed to his hire as well as his defensive counterpart.
Notre Dame might still give up similar yardage as last year, but taking the scoring average from 27.8 to 16.4 will help immensely. Kelly can thank defensive coordinator Mike Elko for that. Sure, there's room for improvement, but the Irish are proving they can compete with the best in the country. Players like Nyles Morgan and Dru Tranquill have played integral roles in this stout defense, and they should be up for a test this weekend.
PREDICTION
An opening week loss to South Carolina continues to be a head scratcher, but wins over ranked Florida State and Louisville teams changed that. Recent struggles from those two teams make the nation wonder how good the Wolfpack actually is. They have a chance to prove their worth in South Bend but, as mentioned earlier, Chubb might not get enough help to pull off the upset.
My pick: Notre Dame 31 NC State 21
