College Football Week 9 Picks: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Oklahoma Sooners

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Bob Stoops hopes to continue his incredible success in Norman, as the Oklahoma Sooners (5-1) get set to host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-0) on Saturday night, with the opening kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC.

The Sooners are 11-point home favorites in the current Week 9 college football betting odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total sits at 48.5 in the market.

Stoops has compiled a dominating 34-1 record at home against non-conference opponents, which fits nicely with the Sooners being 13-3 against the spread (ATS) as home favorites of 7.5 to 14 points during his time on campus.

Let's take a closer look at this high-profile affair from a betting perspective, while offering a prediction along the way.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly is 21-9 ATS as an underdog during his career, which includes a 20-3 straight-up victory over the Michigan State Spartans when getting 4.5 points on Sept. 15.

The Fighting Irish are 4-0 this season in games decided by a touchdown or less, but I'm under the impression that the betting odds suggest a double-digit victory by the Oklahoma Sooners in this contest.

Don't fall into the trap of taking the points in this contest due to the program's 8-1 record in this series, as the last meeting occurred in 1999.

Oklahoma Sooners

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The Oklahoma Sooners have bounced back in a big way after suffering a disappointing 24-19 loss to the Kansas State Wildcats as 15.5-point home favorites on Sept. 22, as they've won their last three games by a significant 156-48 margin.

Quarterback Landry Jones has completed 66-of-106 passes for 880 yards during that span, while throwing for seven touchdowns and just a single interception.

Sports bettors will find that the Sooners are 15-8 ATS after the first month of the season since 2010, while they've covered nine of their last 12 October contests. 

Las Vegas Perspective

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I reached out to Jimmy Vaccaro earlier this week about this high-profile affair. He serves as the public relations director for William Hill, and here's what he had to say:

It will draw the most attention this weekend of any college game, betting-wise. Is Notre Dame legitimate? We'll find out. I say no. I say this will be one of their two losses - here and USC.

Prediction

I'm going to recommend that readers back the Oklahoma Sooners in this particular spot, as they've won 27-straight home games when holding opponents to less than 20 points, which is certainly possible to do in this spot.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense has received a lot of praise this season, but it's important to note that Saturday's host has allowed just 11 trips inside the red zone.

Lay the points with confidence.

College Football Week 9 Pick: Oklahoma Sooners -10

 

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