Notre Dame still has slim playoff hopes, ones determined largely by results outside Irish control. But of course, for those chances to linger, Notre Dame needs to keep winning.
The Irish have made that a November habit the last few years, particularly on Senior Day, winning four straight home finales. Adding a fifth to that streak would also add a fifth game to Georgia Tech’s current losing streak.
Here are our free college football picks and predictions for Georgia Tech at Notre Dame on November 20, with kickoff set for 2:30 ET.
Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Some locations offered an opening line on Sunday with Notre Dame favored by as little as 14.5, but by the end of that afternoon, the Irish were at least 15.5-point favorites. Early in the week, that moved up to -17.0, where it has remained, though some locations have tipped over to -17.5.
The total opened Sunday at 59.5 and held steady before a Thursday fall to 58.5. Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full college football odds before placing your bets.
Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame predictions
Predictions made on 11/19/2021 at 2:20 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame game info
• Location: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
• Date: Saturday, November 20, 2021
• Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC
Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Georgia Tech: Jeff Sims QB (Questionable), Kenny Cooper OL (Questionable), Dylan Deveney TE (Out).
Notre Dame: Kyle Hamilton S (Out), Avery Davis WR (Out), Joe Wilkins WR (Out).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Notre Dame is 11-2-1 ATS in November since 2018, including going 9-0 ATS in its last nine, with six of those coming at home. Georgia Tech is 1-5 ATS in its last six games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Georgia Tech vs. Notre Dame.
Georgia Tech vs Notre Dame picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
Notre Dame has figured out November. Since dropping two of its last three to end the 2017 regular season, the Irish have found roster depth and built conditioning to better handle the season’s end, and it has paid off. Notre Dame has gone 14-0 in November since the start of 2018, covering in all but three of those.
Against Georgia Tech, the Irish should be able to do so again, especially considering the Yellow Jackets give up 9.41 yards per pass attempt along with a 64.7 percent completion rate. Since Notre Dame went to an up-tempo offense in mid-October, it has not struggled to put up points, averaging 33.8 points in its last five games. As long as Irish head coach Brian Kelly does not tap the breaks early on Saturday, Notre Dame should cruise past that average.
And Kelly has reason not to tap the breaks. The Irish chances at the Playoff will come down to a debate, at best, and putting away a final couple opponents in dominant fashion would only help those hopes, however slim they may be.
Prediction: Notre Dame -17.0 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Yellow Jackets are all-too often a one-man show behind sophomore running back Jahmyr Gibbs, and he is far from the first dynamic offensive weapon the Irish defense has needed to focus on this season, following in the footsteps of Purdue’s David Bell, USC’s Drake London and North Carolina’s Josh Downs.
Each of those receivers found their moments, but they could never really spur their offenses. Even the Tar Heels’ 34 points against Notre Dame was three points below North Carolina’s season average. Purdue and USC fell a combined 26 points below their season averages.
Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman has put together schemes to shut down specific offensive weapons, and doing so against Gibbs may be more challenging, but Freeman should still be able to hold Georgia Tech well below its season average of 28.8 points. For that matter, Notre Dame has not given up a touchdown in its last two games.
It almost certainly will give one up on Saturday, but if just one or two, then the Irish would need to reach at least 45 points to crack this total. Even with an improved, up-tempo offense, Notre Dame has not reached 45 points this entire season.
Prediction: Under 58.5 (-110)
Best bet
Of the stretch of Irish success in November, three of their last six home games have featured spreads of more than 17 points, including two weeks ago against Navy. The inflated number here should not scare us off with the worry of a backdoor cover.
It is just as likely, if not more so, that Notre Dame will tack on a late touchdown to cover this with ease, just as it did against the Midshipmen. With an offensive line that has found its footing, to say the least, the Irish attempt at draining clock is often productive to a fault, grinding out running gain after running gain at a rate quicker than the clock itself can run.
Pick: Notre Dame -17.0 (-110)
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