The Notre Dame Fighting Irish saw their CFP dreams rendered nothing but an illusion last week, but they'll need to regroup quickly as they head into Lane Stadium.
Hokies head coach Justin Fuente's job has seemingly been in the air for several seasons now but handing the Irish a second straight loss would do wonders for his security.
Check out our free college football picks and predictions for Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech on October 9.
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Notre Dame opened as a 1.5-point favorite, and by Friday morning, the most accurate depiction of that line would be a pick’em. A few books favor Virginia Tech by a point, a few still have the Irish with a 1-point edge, and a few others have given up trying to differentiate between the two. The total opened at 47.0 and remained there except for a brief midweek drop to 46.0.
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.
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech picks
Picks made on 10/8/2021 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech game info
• Location: Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA
• Date: Saturday, October 9, 2021
• Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech betting preview
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our NCAA football weather info.
Key injuries
Notre Dame: Michael Mayer TE (Probable), Michael Carmody LT (Probable), Tosh Baker LT (Questionable), Kurt Hinish DT (Probable), Joe Wilkins WR (Out).
Virginia Tech: Emmanuel Belmar DL (Questionable), Jaylen Jones WR (Questionable), James Mitchell TE (Out), Changa Hodge WR (Out).
Find our latest NCAA football injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Notre Dame has fared well on the road against quality competition lately, going 6-0 ATS in its last six road games against teams with winning home records, a stretch that includes trips to North Carolina, Boston College, and Pittsburgh last year. Virginia Tech’s last six games have all gone Under the total, as have its last six home games. The Hokies have lost their last four games after idle weeks, while the Irish are 10-1 against their last 11 opponents coming off idle weeks, dating back to 2017. The one loss was just last week. Find more NCAA betting trends for Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech.
Notre Dame vs Virginia Tech predictions
Notre Dame +1.0 (-110)
Shopping is important, and even if the consensus line is now a pick’em, it does not take much window shopping to find the Irish as a one-point underdog on Friday afternoon. Given Notre Dame kicker Jonathan Doerer missed his first extra point in nearly 200 attempts (197 straight, to be exact) last week, one never knows how important a point may be.
But this should not come down to a point after attempt. The Irish lost to a Top-5 team led by one of the country’s best quarterbacks; they were hardly exposed.
Notre Dame’s ground game has yet to find any semblance of consistent productivity, but Virginia Tech’s rush defense will be the worst it has faced to date. That is saying quite a bit, considering two of those defenses were Wisconsin’s and Toledo’s, the Nos. 1 and 4 rush defenses by expected points added per rush according to CFB-Graphs. Assuredly, the paltry Irish running game contributed to those sturdy rankings, but the chicken and egg argument exists for a reason. Some of Notre Dame’s struggles trace to those fronts.
The Hokies rank No. 114 in that rush defense category, meaning the Irish may finally find some offensive balance.
That should make life easier for whatever quarterback Brian Kelly starts. Kelly played it close to the vest in the weeklong debate between Jack Coan and Drew Pyne, though increasingly rhetoric seems to suggest Coan will start in the hostile road atmosphere, drawing on his 18 career starts at Wisconsin and his season-opening start at Florida State to keep the offense steady.
If it is instead Pyne, he will hardly surprise Virginia Tech after playing last week’s second half and most of the second half two weeks ago
Under 47.0 (-110)
Suggesting Notre Dame may find a ground game is not the same as suggesting Kyren Williams and Chris Tyree will break loose a la 2020. Any version of success will buoy the Irish offense as well as keep the middling Virginia Tech offense off the field. To date, Notre Dame has relied wholly on explosive plays to move the ball. Something more plodding may be a nice change of pace for a team trying to find a renewed identity.
Either way, the Hokies have simply struggled this year. Braxton Burmeister has only five touchdown passes through four games and averages just 186.5 passing yards per game. Without star tight end James Mitchell, that offense has become even more stagnant, part of why it has scored 23.5 points per game despite facing North Carolina’s porous defense, Middle Tennessee State’s lack of defense, and FCS-level Richmond.
A charitable analysis will tout this Under because of stout defensive play, but against these two inconsistent offenses, stout defensive play occurs by happenstance.
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