Notre Dame Needs to Avoid Letdown Against Purdue
By Charles Jay
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have suspended a number of players from its squad, but there is no question that the program has served notice that it means business. On Saturday, Notre Dame plays a traditional rival for the second straight week as it plays host to the Purdue Boilermakers in college football betting action at Vietbet, kicking off at 7:30 PM ET at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
There was some uncertainty surrounding the ND program prior to the start of the season, due to a couple of things: a suspension of four players, including starting wide receiver DeVaris Daniels, in an academic fraud scandal, and the return of quarterback Everett Golson, who was suspended for all of last season after being found to have violated academic standards at the university. Golson, as football bettors recall, had taken the reins as a freshman and led Notre Dame into the BCS championship game, where the Irish got trounced by Alabama. What would his condition be, mentally and physically, when he came back to the school and back to action?
That question has been answered rather quickly, as Golson, after steering the club to a victory over Rice in the opener, spearheaded a 31-0 win over Michigan last week in what was an astonishing effort on both sides of the ball, to put it mildly. Now they must show that they are not suffering from a letdown as they face an opponent they should beat easily.
In the college football betting odds that have been posted on this ballgame at Vietbet, the Irish are considerable favorites:
Notre Dame Fighting Irish -28
Purdue Boilermakers +28
Over 57.5 Points -110
Under 57.5 Points -110
Michigan, which generally runs its offense very efficiently with Devin Gardner at the helm, was stymied by a largely rebuilt Irish defense last Saturday, gaining only 298 yards and getting shut out for the first time in 366 games.
What makes this game significant for Notre Dame is that after that monster performance against Michigan, they can start to think about what it will take to get into the four-team College Football Playoff. And what it may take is for them to win some games by wide margins, which is something of material interest to Vietbet customers. Brian Kelly’s squad is ranked eleventh in both major polls, so there would appear to be enough time to move up.
Purdue has thus far had the look of a team that could be accommodating toward ND’s goals. The Boilermakers are coming off a game where they embarrassed themselves in their West Lafayette (IN) home, losing by a 38-17 margin to Central Michigan, and they are experiencing some difficulty at the quarterback spot, leaving coach Darrell Hazell with some decisions to make. Danny Etling went into the season as the starter, but his performance (including throwing a “pick-six”) has been such that Hazell is leaving his options open, and that includes using Austin Appleby, who came off the bench to replace Etling against CMU and at least moved the team a little.
Purdue needs something more consistent than Etling’s 51% completion rate, and from our perspective, they also need to show that they can produce something for college football bettors, as they have covered just seven of their last 24 games against the pointspread.
At Vietbet, they speak your language in many ways, from the easy deposit and quick withdrawal options, to the variety of wagers available, to the ’round-the-clock customer service. Open an account and you’ll see what we mean!
