Notre Dame vs. North Carolina odds, spread, lines: Week 4 college football picks, predictions by computer model

Expert picks, predictions for Notre Dame vs. North Carolina on the Week 4 college football schedule

Notre Dame is coming off its first win under new coach Marcus Freeman and North Carolina off a bye week in college football's Week 4 action on Saturday.

ND needed every second to hold off Cal a week ago at home while UNC has played two close games of its own, both on the road to App State and Georgia State.

What do the experts think of the matchup? Let's see how the College Football Index computer prediction model projects the game.

Notre Dame vs. North Carolina odds, spread, predictions

Week 4 college football schedule: Notre Dame vs. North Carolina

Football Power Index is siding with the Fighting Irish, but by a slim margin, with a 53.5 percent chance to defeat the Tar Heels on the road.

That leaves Carolina the 46.5 percent shot to beat the Irish.

The oddsmakers also predict a close matchup, as Notre Dame comes in as the 1 point favorite in the game, according to the opening line.

Notre Dame has taken a hit in the FPI 131 college football rankings, moving down 7 spots to the No. 25 position overall.

FPI predicts the Irish will win 6.8 games this season and estimates it will be 11.3 points better on average than the opponents on its schedule.

North Carolina checks in at No. 42 in the index rankings, an improvement of 4 spots from last week and expected to win 8.0 games this year.

Neither team was selected in the latest AP top 25 rankings this week.

College Football Power Index

Football Power Index (FPI) college football rankings and computer prediction model are a measure of team strength that predicts a team’s future performance. 

Rankings and scores predictions are based on 20,000 simulations of a team’s season, using a combination of analytics, including scores to date, quality of opponents, and a team’s schedule.

College football rankings

According to AP top 25 poll

1. Georgia
2. Alabama
3. Ohio State
4. Michigan
5. Clemson
6. Oklahoma
7. USC
8. Kentucky
9. Oklahoma State
10. Arkansas
11. Tennessee
12. NC State
13. Utah
14. Penn State
15. Oregon
16. Ole Miss
17. Baylor
18. Washington
19. BYU
20. Florida
21. Wake Forest
22. Texas
23. Texas A&M
24. Pittsburgh
25. Miami

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