9-7-13

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Root---Inner Circle

INNER CIRCLE---NOTRE DAME The Michigan Wolverines look to keep their season rolling on Saturday when the Wolverines host their rival the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. But this usually proves to be a closely played low scoring affair. The Michigan Wolverines took care of business in their week one match up, defeating the Central Michigan Chippewas 59-9. I predicted that the Wolverines would have one of the top offenses in the Big Ten, and even though we are only one week in, it looks very much like that could be the case. Devin Gardner took over for Denard Robinson last season as the signal caller. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were the darlings of the College Football world last season as the Fighting Irish ran the regular season schedule on their way to the title game against the Tide. The Irish opened their season on Saturday against the Temple Owls, dispatching the Owls 28-6. Notre Dame was built on solid defense, and the Irish didn’t disappoint in that department on Saturday. Notre Dame held the Owls to just six points and 362 total yards on the day. The Irish offense put up an impressive 543 yards against the Owls, 355 of which came through the air. Leading the aerial assault for the Irish was QB Tommy Rees, who finished the day with 346 yards and three scores, while completing 16/23. Some of the early money has been on the Wolverines, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this line climb a bit as the public loves small home favorites. The Irish are a very good team and will definitely be able to hang around with Michigan. Take Notre Dame and the points.

[Can'tPickAWinner]

Saturday's NCAAF Top 25 betting cheat sheet: Evening action

Check out quick-hitting betting notes for Saturday's late-night college football Week 2 action:

Washington State Cougars at USC Trojans (-15.5, 53.5)

No. 22 USC hopes explosive tailback Silas Redd will be ready when it begins Pac-12 Conference play against visiting Washington State on Saturday. Redd missed last week's game at Hawaii, further hampering an offense in flux. The Trojans still haven't decided on a starting quarterback for Saturday with Max Wittek and Cody Kessler still battling for Matt Barkley's old job.

The Cougars opened the season with a hard-fought 31-24 loss at Auburn last week. Washington State surrendered a kickoff return for a touchdown and had its comeback hopes ended when Connor Halliday was picked off in the end zone with five minutes left. Washington State has lost 20 straight games to ranked opponents and hasn't beaten USC since 2002.

Key betting stat: Over is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings.

San Jose State Spartans at Stanford Cardinal (-25, 48.5)

Stanford enters its season opener Saturday against visiting San Jose State as a heavy favorite, but the Spartans are very capable of making things interesting. San Jose State has won eight straight and 12 of its last 13 games, including a 24-0 win over Sacramento State in Week 1. The Spartans are unlikely to be overlooked by the fourth-ranked Cardinal, who won their fifth straight game in the series last season by a narrow 20-17 margin.

San Jose State’s upset hopes are fueled by senior quarterback David Fales, who is 12-2 as a starter and ended last season as the nation's most accurate passer. He’ll be tested by a Stanford defense that led the country in sacks last season and returns eight starters, including linebackers Shayne Skov and Trent Murphy. The Spartans’ running game could struggle without starting tailback Tyler Ervin, who hasn’t practiced since leaving last Thursday's game with a right foot injury.

Key betting stat: Spartans are 2-8 ATS in their last 10 meetings.