Betting Notre Dame vs. Army: Irish Shrink as Favorites Over the No. 18 Black Knights

Betting Notre Dame vs. Army: Irish Shrinking as Favorites Over the Black Knights

Notre Dame defensive lineman Kobi Onyiuke (45), wide receiver Jordan Faison (6) and wide receiver Alex Whitman (86) celebrate a Faison touchdown on fake punt play that would later be called back during a NCAA college football game against Virginia at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

No. 6 Notre Dame squares off with No.18 Army in a highly-anticipated Top 25 matchup in Yankee Stadium that will decide each club's College Football Playoff fate.

This Army squad is much improved over recent seasons and is extremely dangerous - it's not just a normal Army team. No, it hasn't beaten anyone great, but it's a nasty enough team to pull off a win over the Irish.

Bettors have subscribed to that line of thinking, too.

Depending on where you do your betting, Notre Dame opened up as a favorite in the 15-17 point range, and it dropped like a rock - it's now down to Army -14 almost across the board.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates winning a NCAA college football game 49-7 against Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

What does this mean for Notre Dame?

A shrinking spread shows growing confidence in the opposition to make the game closer than many expect and maybe even win. Both teams have everything to play for, with the loser of Saturday night's matchup having their CFP dreams crushed.

Army is a formidable opponent, although its strength of schedule is second to last in the country (133 out of 134).

It is fair to say Army has not lined up against a team that is even remotely close to the talent, speed and skill of Notre Dame, but they won't care one bit. The Irish are going to have to earn everything in this one, especially with how Army likes to run the clock down through its triple-option attack.

Notre Dame will need to execute at a high-level on both sides of the field for it to win, much less win comfortably. Based on how Army plays the game, the Irish offense will be lucky to have more than three or four possessions per half.

Ultimately, I expect Notre Dame to be just fine in this one and come out with a victory by three scores, but these trends from Vegas and sports bettors are not encouraging if you believe in the public.