College football upset picks Week 11: Ohio State and 5 teams on upset alert
By Nick Villano
College football upset pick Week 11, No. 3: Notre Dame
Rank: 7 | Opponent: at Virginia | Time: Saturday, Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m. ET
Notre Dame is quietly back in the National Championship conversation. Sure, they need some things to go right, but they are right there. If they get an Ohio State and Oklahoma loss (spoiler alert), then who else is going to be the fourth team besides Notre Dame? (P.S. the answer is Cincinnati.)
They are going on the road to Virginia this week, in a matchup that seems pretty easy on paper. The Fighting Irish are getting 5.5 points on the road, the first road favorite on this list. Virginia is welcoming Notre Dame with the number one offense in the country. The Irish are well aware of what they are facing on paper, but on the field, the speed of this Virginia team is something to behold.
The real reason Notre Dame will struggle is the passing game. They just lost Avery Davis for the season to a torn ACL. They now have just five scholarship players at the position, and it’s something that will hurt them as they try to keep up with the Virginia offense. The Cavaliers usually allow 247 yards per game, but who is Notre Dame going to throw to?
Virginia still needs a few things to go right. They get 545 yards per game and score just under 40 points a game. Notre Dame has scored over 40 points three times this season, and each time it was barely over 40. Bet the over on this game. It’s going to be a doozy.