Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Navy Midshipmen Betting Odds and Pick

Notre Dame once beat Navy 43 times in a row, but the Midshipmen have won three of the last seven meetings in this rivalry outright, going 4-3 against the spread in the process. The 6-1 Irish and 4-4 Mids square off for the 87th consecutive season, this time at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland Saturday night.

Point spread: The Fighting Irish opened as 13.5-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. (Line updates and matchup report.)

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 33.2-19.0 Fighting Irish

Why the Notre Dame Fighting Irish can cover the spread

The Irish started 6-0 straight up and 4-2 against the spread this season, but two weeks ago suffered their first outright loss in a 31-27 decision at defending national champion Florida State. Notre Dame outgained the Seminoles 470-323 and outrushed them 157-50, but had a game-winning Everett Golson touchdown pass in the waning seconds nullified by an offensive pass interference call.

The Irish have outgained five of seven opponents this year, and outrushed six of seven foes, by an average of 60 yards per game. Meanwhile, Golson, after sitting out all last season, has improved his completion percentage from 59 two years ago to 62 this season.

Why the Navy Midshipmen can cover the spread

The Mids had lost three games in a row, but have won their last two after beating San Jose State last week 41-31, covering as eight-point favorites. Navy ran the ball 68 times for 423 yards against the Spartans, 251 of those yards by junior quarterback Keenan Reynolds. So the Mids have outgained and outrushed their last three opponents.

In fact, they rank second in the country in rushing at 352 yards per game, outrushing foes by an average of 181 yards. As mentioned above, Navy has beaten Notre Dame in three of the last seven meetings, and almost did it again last year, giving up an Irish score with three minutes to go to lose 38-34.

Smart Pick

Notre Dame is the better team, but Navy is a pain in the butt to play. The Irish may put up 40 points on the smallish Mids defense, but Navy's option might be good for 30 points itself. So the smart money for this rivalry resides with the underdog Middies.

Betting Trends

• Notre Dame is 4-1 ATS in its last five games on the road.
• The total has gone OVER in four of Navy's last five games when playing Notre Dame.

All point spread and lines data courtesy of Odds Shark. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted. Check out Twitter for injury and line movement updates and get the free odds tracker app.