Miami versus Notre Dame this weekend? Dude, forget everything else, this is *the* game everyone’s talking about. It’s so big that Caesars Sports head of football trading, Joey Feazel, flat out said they’ve “had this game circled for weeks on our calendar.” He’s not messing around either; by Saturday night, this could be “one of the biggest-bet college football games of the season.” If you watched last year, Miami took down Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1, a game that ended up being absolutely huge for the College Football Playoff picture. Now, with the Fighting Irish at home, both squads are desperate to stay on track for the CFP.
The Playoff Stakes, Betting Swings, and a Crushing Injury
Let’s get real about the CFP. Last season, Notre Dame got left out of the 12-team field. Miami, on the other hand, went all the way to the title game before falling to Indiana. This year? The first CFP rankings just dropped, and Notre Dame is sitting at No. 11. That means they’ve got zero room to mess up, right? They’re 7-1 straight up (SU) and 4-4 against the spread (ATS), with their only loss being a 28-24 defeat at BYU in Week 7. Miami, though? They’re rolling at 8-0 SU, 5-3 ATS, and ranked No. 1 in the entire CFP! A road win here for Miami would be a giant leap towards locking up a Playoff spot, but get this, it would actually be an upset.
The betting line for this 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff has been wild. Notre Dame opened at -4.5 at Caesars, jumped to -5.5 on Sunday, and by Wednesday it was flying past -6, -6.5, -7, finally settling at -7.5 (-102). What in the world caused that massive shift? Here’s the gut-punch: Miami wideout Malachi Toney, a legit Heisman Trophy contender, is out for Saturday after suffering an ankle injury in practice. It looks like he’ll be out for a lot longer than just this game too. Feazel confirmed they’re still seeing “decent two-way action,” with folks “taking Notre Dame on the spread and Miami on the moneyline,” even some sharp bettors jumping on Notre Dame at -4.5 early. Caesars is hoping for a “Super Bowl middle” with Notre Dame winning by 1-5, but they’re anticipating that to be 1-7 by game day.
SEC Showdowns Heating Up the South
And it’s not just the Miami-Notre Dame game hogging the spotlight. The SEC is bringing the heat this Saturday with four matchups that have major CFP vibes. The two biggest have to be No. 5 Alabama versus No. 14 LSU and No. 2 Georgia taking on No. 10 Ole Miss. Even though Alabama is ranked higher at 6-2 SU and 4-4 ATS, LSU, also 6-2 SU and 4-4 ATS, is practically a touchdown favorite for their 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff. LSU opened at -4.5 at Caesars and has already climbed to -6. Feazel mentioned their “customer base in Louisiana has consistently taken LSU this year,” so they’re seeing “more LSU action here, and more Over acti” (looks like the quote got cut off there, but you get the drift!). This weekend is going to be absolutely insane for college football!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Fox Sports.
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