Notre Dame vs. Louisville point spread: Picking Fighting Irish vs. Cardinals

Notre Dame has played two straight games down to the final possession in prime time. This week, the Fighting Irish will do so again, heading on the road as 6.5-point favorites over Louisville, according to FanDuel.

Marcus Freeman’s group is in the midst of four straight night games against ranked opponents. As a nearly one-touchdown favorite, Notre Dame might be worn down just enough for Louisville’s offense to capitalize. According to SiriusXM’s Geoff Schwartz, that puts the Fighting Irish in a tough position.

Schwartz joined On3’s Andy Staples on Andy Staples On3 to pick this week’s slate of games, and pointed out what those tough games could do to Notre Dame entering Saturday night’s matchup. He also pointed out what awaits the Fighting Irish next week. USC comes to South Bend, which means there could be a look-ahead factor. As a result, he’s taking Louisville to cover the spread.

“In college football, this feels like a bad spot for Notre Dame to be in,” Schwartz said. “I mean, you play two games now to the final play the game. And they have just been like, as you mentioned, just physical, knock-them-out, drag fights. Just, brawls. And then, you go on the road again, you’re on primetime again. You’re getting everyone’s best shot, right?

“You’re Notre Dame. You get everyone’s best shot. And, they host USC … the weekend after. So this feels like a Louisville +6.5 or no wager spot, like 1,000%. This is what I would do here.”

Andy Staples: ‘Emotionally draining games’ for Notre Dame could help Louisville cover the spread

Notre Dame went through every emotion in the book over the last two weeks. Against Ohio State, the Fighting Irish had their hearts broken at the last second. Then, against Duke, they came from behind on an impressive final drive led by Sam Hartman to win the game.

Those “emotionally draining games” could take a toll on Notre Dame, Staples said. Plus, Louisville could learn some things from that Duke game, specifically the Blue Devils’ decision to let up on the pressure late. Add in an offense that might not face the same pressure it did against NC State, and Louisville could find itself in position to not only cover, but pull off the upset.

“Ron English at Louisville — very experienced, defensive coach. He’s been around the block. I’m sure he watched that. I imagine that they’re going to try to heat up Sam Hartman pretty good and see what they can do,” Staples said. “They’re not as talented, obviously, as Duke on defense or as Ohio State on defense. But they do have some decent players. Jack Plummer, I thought, did a really good job with NC State’s pressure last week. Jeff Brohm said he could have called a better game to help Jack with that. But Notre Dame is not going to do the show you this one look and we’re either bringing three or bringing eight. That’s not Notre Dame’s style.

“So for Jack Plummer, it should be a little bit easier in terms of, ‘I’m not going to have five guys in my face, potentially, on this play.’ So we’ll see. But I think what you said, the beaten up factor plus the look-ahead factor. If they didn’t play USC next week, I might feel differently. This is a tough spot for Notre Dame, so I’m gonna take Louisville to cover.”