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How Notre Dame football vs. North Carolina betting lines have changed

IMG_9992by:Tyler Horka•09/19/22•

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notre dame marcus freeman
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman (Chad Weaver/BGI)

When early odds for various Notre Dame football games were released over the summer, oddsmakers gave the North Carolina Tar Heels close to a touchdown — 6.5 points. That isn’t so less than a week before kickoff.

Lines were adjusted Sunday after the conclusion of Week 3 college football action. Multiple sports books had the game as a straight-up pick ’em. Late Sunday night, Notre Dame was a 1.5-point favorite according to BetMGM. Draft Kings still had the game as a pick ’em.

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The way in which both teams’ first three games went is the reason for such a drastic change in the point spread from the initial release. Notre Dame was a consensus preseason top-five team but lost its first two games, 21-10 to then-No. 2 Ohio State and 26-21 to unranked Marshall. The Thundering Herd lost to Bowling Green Saturday. The Irish finally notched a win, 24-17, over unranked Cal this past weekend.

North Carolina, meanwhile, had a bye in Week 3. The Heels beat FCS Florida A&M 56-24 in Week 0. They narrowly escaped Appalachian State, 63-61, in Week 1. The last time they were on the field on Sept. 10, they found a way to beat Georgia State 35-28.

Notice anything? Points. A lot of them.

Points have been hard to come by for the Irish in the early going. Notre Dame beat the Bears by only gaining 297 yards. The team’s average of 300.3 yards per game ranks No. 114 nationally. North Carolina’s mark of 547.3 yards per game ranks No. 5 in the country. Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and junior quarterback Drew Pyne have to be much more prolific to keep up with the Heels. That, or defensive coordinator Al Golden‘s unit has to do what it did against the potent Buckeyes in the season opener. Or both.

Notre Dame held Ohio State to 395 yards. The Buckeyes are still up to 565.3 yards per game, which ranks No. 1 nationally. North Carolina hasn’t seen a defense with as much talent as Notre Dame’s. Look what happened when OSU had to contend with the Irish. That’s likely why even with the roaring start of redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye, North Carolina is still a betting underdog at home for Saturday’s 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Here’s where the lines stood according to various sports books Sunday night.

Notre Dame vs. North Carolina betting lines

BetMGM: ND -1.5

BetRivers: ND -1.0

Caesars: ND -1.0

DraftKings: Pick ’em

FanDuel: UNC -1.5

PointsBet: ND -1.0

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