The No. 21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish play the No. 19 South Carolina Gamecocks in the Gator Bowl on Friday in Jacksonville, Fla., in a matchup of 8-4 teams that survived rough starts to reach a bowl game.
The Irish started the season fifth but lost their first two games, including a 21-10 loss to Ohio State in the opener. Notre Dame, under first-year coach Marcus Freeman, won five straight late in the season, but lost the regular-season finale to USC.
The Gamecocks started the season 1-2 with losses against ranked teams in Arkansas and Georgia. South Carolina finished the regular season on a high note by upsetting top 10 teams Tennessee and Clemson.
This will be the fifth meeting between the teams. South Carolina won the last meeting, 36-32, in 1984, but Notre Dame won the other three meetings. The Fighting Irish are 19-21 in bowl games. The Gamecocks are 10-14 in bowl games.
Here’s everything you need to know from a betting perspective on the Notre Dame vs. South Carolina game, from point spread, money line, Over/Under totals and expert picks ( the probabilities through Bet FOX).
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number 21 Our Lady vs. no. 19 South Carolina (3:30 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN)
Distribution of points: Notre Dame -2.5 (Notre Dame is favored to win by more than 2.5 points, otherwise South Carolina covers)
Moneyline: Notre Dame -138 favorites to win (bet $10 to win $17.25 total); South Carolina +110 underdogs to win (bet $10 to win $21 total)
Total Over/Under Score: 51.5 points scored by the two teams together
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
N.D
-2.5
-139
o52
South Carolina Gamecocks
SCAR
+2.5
+110
u52
Choose using the Gambling Analyst Sam Panaiotovich:
No team finished their season stronger than South Carolina.
The Gamecocks throttled Tennessee by 25 points, then rolled into Death Valley and snapped Clemson’s 40-game home winning streak. Momentum isn’t always easy to come by, but head coach Shane Beamer has his group playing inspired ball.
That helps too [former Heisman front-runner] Spencer Rattler will start at quarterback for South Carolina. There were early rumors that Rattler was on the fence, but he made his intentions clear last week. The former Oklahoma Sooner was magical in SC’s last two tilts.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame’s quarterback situation is a work in progress. Starter Drew Pyne entered the transfer window, so Tyler Buchner will start despite missing 10 games with a non-throwing shoulder injury. And let’s not forget that future NFL tight end Michael Mayer opted for the NFL Draft.
I think the wrong team is favored, so give me the points.
COLLECT: South Carolina (+2.5 at FOX Bet) to lose by less than 2.5 points (or win outright)
Pick through the FOX Sports College Football Analyst RJ Young:
The Gamecocks are in rare form, with wins against Tennessee and Clemson to end their regular season. They might not get the win over the Irish, but they’ll certainly keep it competitive.
COLLECT: South Carolina (+2.5 at FOX Bet) to lose by less than 2.5 points (or win outright)
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