Last weekend was a gift to college football fans everywhere with six top-25 showdowns on Saturday. Week 5 isn’t necessarily on that level, but it’s certainly close as there are four games taking place between ranked teams as well as a few that just missed the cut.
It begins with No. 10 Utah against No. 19 Oregon State on Friday night. On Saturday No. 24 Kansas travels to take on No. 3 Texas, later No. 13 LSU will play No. 20 Ole Miss and then No. 11 Notre Dame looks to bounce back against No. 17 Duke.
No. 22 Florida also plays an undefeated Kentucky team on the road that just barely missed the cut and No. 8 USC is up against a Colorado team that just fell out of the top 25.
The two games in the spotlight this week are Notre Dame-Duke and LSU-Ole Miss.
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No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 17 Duke
Spread: Notre Dame -5.5 (-110) | Duke +5.5 (-110)
Moneyline: ND (-225) | DUKE (+170)
Total: 52.5 – Over (-105) | Under (-120)
Game Info: Saturday, Sep. 30 | 7:30 p.m. ET | ABC
Location: Wallace Wade Stadium | Durham, NC
BEST BET: Notre Dame -5.5 (-110)
The Fighting Irish were oh-so-close to scoring a season-defining victory against the Buckeyes last week. Instead, they lined up down one defender as Ohio State punched in the game-winning touchdown from one yard out to prevail, 17–14. Now the pressure is on Notre Dame (4–1) to run the table to keep its slim playoff hopes alive, with three upcoming games against undefeated teams: at Duke, at Louisville and home for No. 8 USC.
The Blue Devils leapt into the top 25 after upsetting then-No. 9 Clemson, 28–7, in Week 1. Duke (4–0 ) hasn’t been challenged since, with games against FCS Lafayette, Northwestern and UConn — it was at least a three-score favorite in each.
Hosting the Fighting Irish presents a more difficult challenge. The Blue Devils boast the third-best passing defense nationally (143.3 passing yards allowed) but they’ve yet to go against a signal-caller like Sam Hartman, who’s thrown for over 1,200 yards, 14 touchdowns and no interceptions this season. The Wake Forest transfer is 1–1 in his career against Duke, including a 34-31 loss in the 2022 regular-season finale. Hartman threw for 347 yards, three touchdowns and an interception in that game.
Hartman was held to a season-low 175 passing yards by the Buckeyes but Notre Dame was able to lean on its rushing attack, which is led by the nation’s leading rusher Audric Estime, who’s quickly approaching 600 yards. The Blue Devils are an average defense against the run, especially when compared to their elite passing defense. They do, however, rank top 20 in turnovers gained and allow the fourth-fewest points per game (8.8).
Duke’s offense revolves around the ground game. Jordan Waters is the team’s primary ball carrier but quarterback Riley Leonard and Jacquez Moore are also involved in a unit that averages over 200 rushing yards per game and is tied for the second-most rushing touchdowns in the country (15). Leonard pilots an efficient passing offense in which Jalon Calhoun and Jordan Moore are his top targets. Leonard only has two passing touchdowns on the year but he’s yet to commit a turnover and has only taken one sack.
Notre Dame’s defense is also pretty stingy, specifically against the pass, and it’s tied for 15th in points allowed (12.8) despite having played a much tougher schedule than Duke.
This is a bounce-back spot for the Fighting Irish, who let a loss to Ohio State last year spiral into two. That won’t happen again this year. Take Notre Dame to cover as a road favorite, something this team already accomplished earlier in the year against N.C. State.
