BSNblog

Saturday, 3:30 pm Eastern – ABC

The North Carolina Tar Heels are off to their best start since 1997 and back in the Top 25 for the first time since 2001. To stay in the rankings they will have to defeat a Notre Dame team that is 4-1. "Our kids are doing a great job of keeping things in perspective," North Carolina coach Butch Davis said. "We're just kind of chipping away, trying to get better every week and trying to play 12 consecutive one-game schedules."

North Carolina is a 7.5 point favorite at SBG Global.

The Irish could be just a win away from entering the rankings. "I think we're on the cusp," head coach Charlie Weis said. "I can't worry about the polls, but you go beat North Carolina at North Carolina, I'd say the odds are you'll be in the Top 25 next week." The Irish have been relying a lot upon quarterback Jimmy Clausen who threw for 347 yards and three touchdowns last week. They would like to be more balanced this week. "If you become a one-dimensional team, eventually you're going to get hurt. Especially when you're ineffective on third-and-1," Weis said. "You have to be able to run the football and you definitely need to be more productive on third-and-1 than we've been."

Notre Dame has owned the series against North Carolina. They have won 16 of the 17 meetings with the only loss coming in 1960. The teams have only played once since 1975 and that was in 2006 as Notre Dame won 45-26 at home. Here are more College Football betting stats for Saturday’s game. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games on grass. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 non-conference games. The Fighting Irish are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games in October. The Fighting Irish are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games overall. The Fighting Irish are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 vs. the ACC.

The Tar Heels are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 non-conference games. The Tar Heels are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in October. The Tar Heels are 9-3 ATS vs. a team with a winning record. The Tar Heels are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games.

The Under is 7-0 in Notre Dame’s last 7 road games. The Under is 6-0 in Notre Dame’s last 6 vs. the ACC. The Under is 12-5 in Notre Dame’s last 17 non-conference games. The Under is 4-1 in the Tar Heels last 5 home games. The Over is 5-2 in the Tar Heels last 7 games overall.