Weather Forecast for Indiana-Notre Dame CFP game
Indiana and Notre Dame will share the spotlight with the South Bend weather as the College Football Playoff opens tonight.
Here’s the weather report from our favorite betting weatherman Kevin Roth:
Freezing temps in the 20s, with a 10mph wind. On top of the cold and the wind, there’s also a chance for snow. If we see snow it would come from one band of lake effect snow that models are picking up on, currently that’s poised to arrive just after the game, but that kind of forecast is notoriously fickle.
Adam Burke previews the first-round game (8 p.m. ET, ABC).
Scott C. has our VSiN Fan Bowl Pick, presented by Omaha Steaks.
Historically, Notre Dame is a football blue blood and Indiana is a “never have, never will.” But this game will be played on the field and not in the history books.
Statistically, these teams are nearly dead even. ND scoring offense #3 vs. Indiana. scoring defense #6; ND scoring Defense #3 vs. Indiana scoring offense #2; both teams offenses average 6.7 yards per play; neither team turns the ball over. So why is this game ND -7? Simple. History!
This will be a close game and in close games it usually comes down to QB play, field goal kicking and/or coaching. Indiana has an advantage in QB (O’Rourke 179.1 / Leonard 142.8) and a significant advantage in field goal kicking (IU (9/10 90% / ND 8/18 44%). Coaching is a bit of an unknown with Cignetti, but his teams do not make many mistakes.
In a game with two great defenses and a statistical dead heat, give me the team with the better QB, the better kicker, the coach with the most swagger and +7 points.
This game comes down to a field goal, and with ND, it is most likely a miss, and with IU it is most likely a make. Take IU and the points and take a little money line as well.
More on Scott: I am an Indiana native like Matt Youmans and Wes Reynolds. I played in the VSIN Invitational golf tournament in August of 2023, when I got the opportunity to meet Matt, and Wes actually played in my group as a “designated putter.”
Best Bets on IU-ND (and other games) from Tuley and Steve Makinen.
Cure and Gasparilla Bowl Previews
We also have two bowl games today.
Cure Bowl: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State, Noon ET (ESPN).
Greg Miller, an Ohio U grad, has our Fan Bowl Pick.
The Bobcats won their first MAC title in 56 years by throttling arch-rival Miami in the title game 38-3. The win capped a school-record 3rd straight 10-win season for head coach Tim Albin. To celebrate, Albin accepted the head coaching job at Charlotte a mere hours after hoisting the MAC Championship trophy in Detroit.
Jacksonville State had a similar experience winning their first-ever C-USA title under head coach Rich Rodriguez blasting Western Kentucky 52-12. Days later, Rodriguez returned to his roots and accepted the job at West Virginia were he left 17 years ago.
Where things differ between the two situations is Ohio saw not one player enter the transfer portal. Jax State has seen 13 players so far put their name in the portal, including their leading WR and multiple All-CUSA players from their starting defense.
I give the edge to Ohio here. The Bobcats are one of the few teams who still value bowl season winning five straight bowl games in the last seven seasons. They are loaded with seniors and super-seniors across the offensive and defensive front that will be playing their final college football game including QB Parker Navarro (2169 yds pass, 935 yds rush), RB Tre Tyus (1111 yds rush) & WR Coleman Owen (1105 yds rec). Match that with a defense that allowed less than 100 yds rushing per game & 18ppg (11th in nation), I can see Ohio containing Jax State rushing attack (267 ypg, 2nd in nation).
This is the debut of new head coach Brian Smith with a roster of players committed to him. I’ll take that over a team with portal problems and uncertainty in their coaching staff. Bonus Bet: Ohio is the only team in FBS to not allow a 1Q TD all season.
Note: Greg emailed this Wednesday when the line was at Ohio -3. It is now -6.
More on Greg: Born and raised in West Virginia, but now live in Dublin, OH (suburban Columbus) about a mile south of “Jack’s Place”/Muirfield Village Golf Club. I’m what I like to call a “retired TV sports anchor”, ha! After 15 years in local TV around the country, I’m now 12 years into a corporate marketing job specializing in video production. Been listening to VSiN since its inception! Fell in love with Mitch & Pauly on my morning commute and was hooked.
Gasparilla Bowl: Tulane vs. Florida, 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
Bill Hooker, a wholesale auto broker from Leesburg, Va., has our Fan Bowl Pick.
One thing I’ve learned on VSIN over the years is points are valuable, but I’ve been riding the Florida Gators the last few weeks and I’m not stopping now.
I don’t know what happened to them, but they now look like a top tier SEC team. They had the talent all along, but now they’re playing up to expectations. They also appear to be glad to play in this bowl game and continue their run of good play. Their top players are dialed in meanwhile Tulane is playing a backup QB who has thrown 11 passes completing 6. He’s mobile for sure and a run threat, but the Gators have the athletes on defense to keep him in check. Throw in the fact Tulane lost to Memphis and looked Turrible against Army.
Give me Florida 1st half -6 1/2 and full game -10.5.
More on Bill: Not trying to set any records for working hard these days. I told Mitch Moss several years ago that VSIN literally changed my life. Traffic is terrible around here so when I was working full time I would wait until after rush hour, 10ish to leave home rather than sit in traffic. I was always bored in the morning until I discovered VSIN and Follow The Money. Not only filled a void in my life I gained an education on sports betting. Forever grateful.
Thanks to Omaha Steaks, I’m sending our three handicappers a gift certificate worth more than $275.
Send me your pick with an explanation for one of the bowl or CFP games through Dec. 24. If I pick your pick, the Omaha Steaks are coming your way.
(If you don’t want to submit your pick but Omaha Steaks sound good, you can get $30 off your next order and 50% off sitewide. Visit omahasteaks.com/VSIN and enter the code VSIN30 to get this limited-time offer. Minimum purchase may apply.)
Fan Bowl Preview Record: 3-1 as underdog Sam Houston won outright.
Other bowl resources
>All of our bowl and CFP previews will be posted here.
>Matchup page: ATS records, advanced stats and Makinen’s estimated scores.
>DraftKings/Circa Betting Splits.
>Get your VSiN College Football Playoff Betting Guide. There are 27 pages of previews, picks and predictions. Download the PDF here.
>CFB Picks page with plays from hosts and their guests.
Don’t forget to check the Road to Jansanity selections from more than 3,000 contestants. We’ll post them here shortly before kickoff tonight.
Thursday Night Football Recap
The Chargers rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Broncos 34-27 and cover as 3-point home favorites. But as Dave Tuley would point out, Denver did cover 6-point teasers with a late field goal. The Total went Over the closing 41.5.
However, the game likely will be remembered for the first successful free kick field goal since 1976. >>Watch how it happened.
Everything we do on NFL Week 16 is posted here.
Tune in for Friday Football selections
Matt Youmans will announce the Week 16 picks on the Circa Friday Football Invitational show tonight from 9-11 ET.
We are down to 11 handicappers competing for $25,000 put up by Circa owner Derek Stevens in a weekly NFL and college football pick’em contest.
Las Vegas pro bettor Chuck Edel has a commanding 5.5-point lead with Vinny Castillo and Brett McMurphy the most recent cuts. Three more will be cut after this weekend to get down to the final eight with two weeks left. >>Standings.
The contest selections are posted on VSiN.com and VSiN Pro subscribers get an email with the 77 picks right after the show.
Today in college basketball
Greg Peterson has posted his Best Bets for today’s menu.
>Adam Burke‘s top plays will be up later today.
Quick Hits
NBA: Zach Cohen will post his Best Bets by mid-morning.
NHL: Look for Jonathan Davis‘ picks by mid-day on our NHL page.
Horse Racing: 1/ST Bet handicapper Jeff Siegel has picks for today.
This is The VSiN Daily newsletter for Friday, December 20. Sign up for this free email and get picks and insights delivered to your in-box every morning.
