Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Florida State Seminoles Betting Preview
05 September 2021

Week 1 of the college football season has been filled with some terrific matchups, and another one is set for Sunday night. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Florida State Seminoles in a matchup of historic programs.
Notre Dame advanced to the College Football Playoff a year ago, and they have those same goals this season. The Fighting Irish are back to being an independent team after spending last year in the ACC.
Florida State was once the most dominant program in the ACC, but that is no longer the case. The Seminoles do have a talented roster in 2021, and winning this game would give them a ton of momentum.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 7.5-point favorites over the Florida State Seminoles in the season opener on Sunday night.
Irish Want to Run
Ian Book was tremendous at the quarterback position for Notre Dame a season ago, and now Jack Coan will try to find the same success. Notre Dame will need Coan to play well to win, but the Fighting Irish are going to run the ball a ton in this game.
Head coach Brian Kelly believes that his offensive line is one of the best in the country, and they will be looking to wear down Florida State in this game. The Fighting Irish can chew up the clock with the rushing attack, but they will also hit on some big plays.
The defense for Notre Dame should be solid once again, and they aren’t facing a great offense in this game. Look for the Fighting Irish to give up very few points on Sunday night.
Seminoles Must Get Stops
Florida State has some questions on both sides of the football, but the defense should actually be the better unit of the two. If the Seminoles are going to find a way to pull off this upset, then they will have to defend the run.
Costly mistakes have doomed Florida State over the past few seasons, and they will have to limit those on Sunday night. The Seminoles will have to take chances, but they have to convert on those chances.
Quarterback McKenzie Milton should provide a huge boost to the Florida State offense, but he is facing a great defense. The Seminoles will have to put together some long drives, and that has been an issue in recent years.
Fighting Irish Blow Out Florida State
Florida State is a team that enters 2021 with plenty of hype and optimism, but there are still some real concerns with this team. Taking on Notre Dame in Week 1 is going to exploit some of those issues as the Fighting Irish are a legitimate CFP contender.
Notre Dame will have to find someone that can replace the leadership and talent of Ian Book, but this offense is still going to be solid. Don’t expect the Florida State defense to have much of an answer as the Fighting Irish will march up and down the field.
This is a game that will get out of hand in a hurry as Florida State just can’t keep up. Bet the Notre Dame Fighting Irish -7.5 as they blow this game wide open and roll to a season-opening victory.
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