Indiana vs. Notre Dame Picks for CFB DFS: College Football Playoff Predictions
College football fans got what they wanted, and the expanded playoff is here. It all starts with an exciting matchup between Indiana and Notre Dame on Friday night at 8 p.m. EST on ABC and ESPN.
This would be just a premiere bowl game any other year, but now it’s for the chance at a National Championship. The winner will move onto the Sugar Bowl to take on #2 Georgia.
Below, we’ve got the top Indiana vs. Notre Dame picks and predictions for Friday night for PrizePicks and CFB DFS to help you build your Lineups.
#7 Notre Dame had one hiccup this season against Northern Illinois in a massive upset, but other than that, the Fighting Irish have dominated with seven wins by over 20 points. The question for #10 Indiana is if they can keep up with a top-tier team. The Hoosiers have only faced one ranked opponent, and it was an abysmal 38-15 loss to Ohio State, where they scored only eight points after the first quarter — so we’ll see if they redeem themselves.
Let’s look at the top players in this matchup, including Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke and Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard, and their potential impact in this First Round College Football Playoff game for Friday, December 20.
For more college football picks and predictions throughout the College Football Playoff, stay tuned to the Playbook for predictions on all the bowl and CFB Playoff games.
Indiana vs. Notre Dame Picks for the CFB Playoff First Round
Here are the top picks and player predictions for #7 Indiana vs. #10 Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff First Round showdown for CFB DFS on PrizePicks for Friday, December 20. Click to read more analysis.
- Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love 0.5 Rush+Rec TD — More
- Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard 1.5 Passing TDs — More (Demon)
- Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke 203.5 Passing Yards — Less
- Indiana RB Justice Ellison 52.5 Rushing Yards — More
Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love 0.5 Rush+Rec TD — More
The Irish running game has powered them this season. Love led the team with 849 yards, but because QB Riley Leonard loves to tuck it and run himself, he didn’t get as many carries in a more conventional offense. One spot where he was the top option was in the red zone.
Indiana didn’t allow many red zone trips (28), but when it did, it wasn’t the most efficient, with a .821 stop rate (65th).
What will be continually mentioned is Indiana’s lack of competition. Indiana had one of the easiest strength of schedule of any power four teams in the Playoff; according to the ESPN College Football Power Index, the Hoosiers had the 67th toughest schedule, trailing only Boise State for teams in the Playoff.
Notre Dame made 4.1 trips to the end zone per game, the same as Ohio State, and those will be, as of now, the only opponents Indiana they are within the top 50.
You can check off Love getting into the end zone because he has scored in every game this season.
Note: Love missed the end of Notre Dame’s last game with a knee injury and has been limited in practice to some capacity leading up to this game. This injury is likely suppressing his rushing yards total — 81.5 on PrizePicks, as there is not clear news on if he will play fully here, though he is off three weeks' rest. However, the team confirmed he will play in this game — keep an eye out for any pre-game reports on his full injury status.
Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard 1.5 Passing TDs — More (Demon)
It was a slow start for Leonard this year; in his first three games, he threw for under 200 yards and didn’t have a passing touchdown. Whether it was offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock making changes or Leonard getting more comfortable, he flipped a switch with a passing touchdown in eight of the final nine. In those nine games, he had six games with multiple touchdowns, including the last three.
Of the ten FBS opponents Indiana played, two finished this year with more than 20 passing touchdowns: Maryland threw three, and Ohio State had two. Notre Dame’s 19 passing touchdowns is the third-most amongst their opponents, and with how well Leonard has played as of late, he will find the end zone twice here.
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Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke 203.5 Passing Yards — Less
Rourke has been excellent this year and played a big part in leading the Hoosiers to this point. He finished the year 29th in passing yards (2,827) and his 27 passing touchdowns were the seventh-most. Among the other 11 quarterbacks who had the same or more touchdowns, his four interceptions were the fewest.
However, this will be a brutal matchup against the Fighting Irish, as they had one of the toughest secondaries in college football, and their 92.3 PFF coverage grade ranks third. Rourke faced only one other team in the top 30 — Ohio State (11th); that’s when he threw for a season-low 68 yards.
Notre Dame’s star cornerback Benjamin Morrison has been gone since Week 6, and they still had the best dropback EPA (-0.172) in college football. Rourke will struggle to hit this number.
Indiana RB Justice Ellison 52.5 Rushing Yards — More
For Indiana to have a chance in this game, it must match Notre Dame and play smash-mouth football. The Hoosiers have to look to hit the ground and put Notre Dame’s defensive line on its heels. They can do that because they have a solid backfield featuring RB Justice Ellison.
The one part of the Irish’s defense opponents have been able to exploit is through the as their 138.8 yards allowed per game is 51st and are 46th with an 84.7 PFF run defense grade. Opponents have realized this, and they don’t take the run game out of the script when they are down significantly. Teams ran the ball over 30 times in eight of 12 games and also ran for over 120 yards in eight games.
Ellison had his best season with a career-high 811 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry, so he could get to this number based on his volume.
Make College Football Playoff Picks on PrizePicks
On Friday, we’ll see Indiana vs. Notre Dame in the first game of the first even 12-team College Football Playoff, but that’s only the beginning. There will be plenty more bowl games and the CFB Playoffs playing all day on Saturday, then again on New Year’s.
Use these Indiana vs. Notre player picks to help you make your CFB DFS Lineups on PrizePicks. By combining these picks, you can build a Lineup to 7.5x your money!
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