SPORTS BETTING

• Navy Midshipmen vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2:30 ET

  Posted on Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT by North Shore Sports, INC

  
  

  Traditional rivals with a lot of respect for each other get it on in South Bend, IN on Saturday afternoon where the Navy Midshipmen (6-3, 5-4 ATS) will crack skulls with the #21 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-2, 2-6 ATS). Last season, the Irish knocked off the Middies 27-21 in Baltimore, but the last time that these two teams squared off in front of the watchful eyes of Touchdown Jesus, the Midshipmen ended a 43-game winning streak by the Irish in this series with a 46-44 overtime victory.
   
  The oddsmakers have lined the hosts at -11 on Saturday afternoon, with the college football betting 'total' coming in at 55.5.
   
  As always, you can expect the Naval Academy to run the ball, run the ball, and run the ball some more on Saturday. QB Ricky Dobbs has only thrown 66 passes in nine games this season, but he does lead the Midshipmen in carries (170) and touchdowns (16). Seven different players have at least 100 rushing yards for Navy, while both Dobbs and RB Vince Murray are on pace to have 1,000-yard seasons on the ground.
   
  Navy had a five-game winning streak going before last Saturday's 27-24 loss at home to Temple. However, none of those victories were overly impressive, as Air Force may be the only bowl eligible team that the Midshipmen have beaten this season. A victory in South Bend will change all of that, even though Navy is already guaranteed a spot in a bowl game regardless of the results from its final four games of the season.
   
  This will be yet another critical test for the Fighting Irish and HC Charlie Weis. Many think that Notre Dame will be invited to a BCS game if it can run the table from here and get to that ever-so-important 10-win plateau. Notre Dame really hasn't posted that signature, impressive victory in 2009 yet, and with only four games remaining, time is running out.
   
  Before last week’s 40-14 victory over Washington State, the Irish's L/6 games were all decided by a touchdown or less. The offense will get WR Michael Floyd back on Saturday afternoon, who has been out of action for over a month. Floyd will only help add to the dynamics of an offense which ranks 6th in the country in yards (457.6) and 28th in scoring (31.2). The match-up with Navy's wishbone attack has to be a welcome change for ND's secondary, which has been torched for 260.1 yards per game; the 11th worst mark in the country.
   
  The road team is 13-1 ATS in the L/14 meetings between these teams, and a perfect 6-0 ATS since 2003. Navy has been a spectacular road team for years, going 55-24 ATS in its L/79 road games. Notre Dame hasn't covered a spread as a favorite since the opening week of the season against Nevada.
   
  No matter whether you plan on making money on the Midshipmen or hope that Irish eyes will be smiling, Bookmaker Sportsbook will have all of the great football betting lines available to you this weekend and for the rest of the season.
   
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