Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl point spread: Picking Oregon State Beavers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Notre Dame is set to take on Oregon State in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 29. Quarterbacks, coaches and offensive linemen are missing, but the Beavers and Irish will do battle with whoever’s left on Friday afternoon.
DraftKings currently has the betting line at -6 in favor of Notre Dame, despite it opening at over 10 points towards ND. The over/under is set at 41.5 and a half while the Irish get the nod as -225 money line favorites as well, with OSU sitting at +185.
How to watch Notre Dame vs. Oregon State
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Channel: CBS, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Sun Bowl – El Paso, Texas
Prior to the kickoff of this bout between the Beavers and Irish, On3’s Andy Staples was joined by Associated Press college football writer Ralph Russo to break down their thoughts and final predictions on the matchup.
Staples began his discussion of the Sun Bowl by noting just how hampered the Notre Dame offense is. He mentioned that they’ll be missing their starting quarterback (Sam Hartman), starting running back (Audric Estime), and four starting offensive linemen including a terrific tackle duo.
But Russo pointed out similar challenges for OSU, that Oregon State’s quarterback won’t play along with a slew of other guys. Plus, the Beavers have the disadvantage of not having their head coach, Jonathan Smith, who left for Michigan State.
In a battle of two clubs who are both deploying a hefty number of backups, Russo says he’ll side with the deeper roster.
“I’ll go with Notre Dame here. It also goes back to: who’s going to have the better No. 2s? I know Notre Dame has a lot of guys who opted out, but I also know Notre Dame has a bunch of players they will be relying on next year.”
Staples agreed on that point, noting that despite the heavy losses up front, Notre Dame does have future starters coming in to take reps in this game.
“It’s the offensive line that’s the most important part here in this discussion. These are the players who will be starting for Notre Dame on the offensive line next year,” added Staples.
Knowing that ND has more capable reserves to replace their los starters, plus the fact they have their coaching staff in place, Staples just sees the Irish as the right pick.
“I will take Notre Dame. I think they’re going to be able to run the ball in this game, and so, I’ll take Notre Dame to cover.”
There you have it. Staples likes that -6 number and sees Marcus Freeman’s group taking care of business by more than a TD.