Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame Betting Odds, Analysis, College Football Pick

With a pair of easy victories and covers to begin this season, Georgia Tech is now 8-1 straight up over its last nine games, with nine covers in a row. This week the Yellow Jackets might do something few teams do, which is go into South Bend as a betting favorite over Notre Dame.

Point spread: The Fighting Irish opened as two-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark. You can view the line updates and matchup report here.

College football pick, via Odds Shark computer: 27.7-23.7 Fighting Irish

Why the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets can cover the spread

The Ramblin' Wreck is off to a 2-0 start to this season both straight up and against the spread, after rolling over Tulane 65-10 on Saturday. Georgia Tech led 28-7 at the half and then poured it on in the second half, covering the 32-point spread midway through the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets ran the ball for 439 yards; it was just another jaunt through the park against an outfit ill-equipped to deal with the triple-option.

Two weeks ago Georgia Tech opened this season with a 69-6 romp over Alcorn State, running for 476 yards and covering at minus-41.

The Yellow Jackets only returned five starters on offense this season, but that fivesome consisted of quarterback Justin Thomas and four players along the offensive line. And eight starters returned on defense. The Georgia Tech offense can be a real handful, and while Notre Dame sees the option almost every year when it plays Navy, the Midshipmen scored 39 points on the Irish last year and 34 the year before.

Why the Notre Dame Fighting Irish can cover the spread

The Irish are 2-0 after outlasting Virginia Saturday 34-27. Notre Dame led 12-0, trailed 14-12, led 26-14 and then trailed 27-26 with less than two minutes to go, losing starting quarterback Malik Zaire for the season to an ankle injury in the process. But backup DeShone Kizer hit wide receiver Will Fuller on a 39-yard touchdown strike with just 12 seconds to go to lift the Irish to victory.

Notre Dame racked up 460 yards of offense, 253 of those on the ground, although it came up short trying to cover as 13-point chalk.

Two weeks ago the Irish opened this season with a 38-3 trouncing of Texas, easily covering at minus-nine.

The big uncertainty about Notre Dame now is Kizer, a redshirt freshman. But he's big (6'4 ½", 230 lbs), comes highly regarded and could be dangerous from what we've seen so far.

Smart pick

Yes, the Irish are down a quarterback, but it's not the end of the world or even this season. Zaire was the next man up after Everett Golson transferred, and now it's Kizer. Also, Notre Dame owns the better defense, and while it's had trouble with Navy's option in recent seasons, at least it's seen it before. The smart choice here is the Irish.

Betting trends

• Georgia Tech is 4-0 against the spread in its last four games against Notre Dame.
• Georgia Tech is 9-0 against the spread and 8-1 straight up in its last nine games.
• The total has gone over in eight of Notre Dame's last 10 games, with one push.

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.