LSU Brings Momentum Into Meeting with Notre Dame
It looks for the moment as if the LSU Tigers and Notre Dame Fighting Irish are going in different directions; one of them built up a head of steam in the second half of the season, while the other ended the campaign like a squad that really had something to prove. And we are looking at a great “strength against strength” matchup as these teams collide in the Citrus Bowl, slated to begin at 1 PM ET on Monday (January 1) in Orlando. If you are a VietBet customer, it is your good fortune that you can get reduced juice before the game begins, and then after it kicks off, you can place wagers in real-time using the facilities of Live Betting Ultra.
2017 Citrus Bowl Odds:
In the NCAA football odds that have been posted on this Citrus Bowl game at VietBet, LSU is favored:
LSU Tigers -3 (-120)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish +3 (+100)
Over 51.5 points -110
Under 51.5 points -110
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2017 Citrus Bowl Odds – Betting Preview
LSU has seen low points, for certain; they were trounced thoroughly by Mississippi State (37-7) in the third game of the season, and then a couple of weeks later, they had their 49-game home non-conference winning streak broken by Troy.Yes, TROY. At that point they did not look anything like a team that would be playing on New Year’s Day. But they have rallied, to put it mildly. In their last seven games, they have been beaten only by Alabama, which was top-ranked at the time, and they scored a victory over an Auburn squad that made it to the SEC title game. They have now covered six games in a row, bringing their record to 9-3 straight-up and 7-4-1 against the points.
Notre Dame is the team that, up until the season’s latter stages, looked like it might eventually make it into the Final Four. They barely got beaten by Georgia in the second week (20-19), but then came on like gangbusters, winning six games in a row by 20 points or more, and taking a seven-game winning streak into Miami in what was billed as a genuine “showdown” game. But they were humbled every which way by the Hurricanes, losing 41-8, and that defeat seemed to tear away at their confidence. They had to launch a big comeback the next week to beat Navy, and then they failed in the regular-season finale at Stanford, losing to the Cardinal by a 38-20 count. After holding each of their first eight opponents to 20 points or less, they have now given up 37 points or more in three of their last four ballgames. The Irish are 9-3 straight-up and 7-5 ATS, but they have lost their last four against the football pointspread.
It has been established that each of these teams would rather travel by land. And both of them have star running backs that can get the job done. For LSU, that is Darrius Guice, who ran for 1151 yards and is considered by many to be an even more explosive back then Leonard Fournette, who left school before this season to become a first-round draft pick in the NFL. There is also a very talented running back in a secondary role, as Darrell Williams had 776 yards and a 5.7-yard average. So the Bayou Bengals should have a fresh potential game-breaker on the field at all times.
Notre Dame depends greatly on Josh Adams, who averaged 7.3 yards per carry and was considered a Heisman contender through much of the season. And they have a quarterback who can pull the ball down and run with it. Brandon Wimbush compiled 765 yards on the ground, but what LSU would really like to do is force him to the air, where he is somewhat compromised. Wimbush completed less than 50% of his passes, and even though he had some big plays in the season finale against Stanford, he was just 11-28. So what can the Tigers do along those lines? Well, they were more than capable of defending the run, allowing just 3.8 yards per attempt and limiting powerful Alabama to just 116 yards, and certainly Notre Dame will find no relief from this secondary, which allowed just 53% completions.
LSU’s quarterback, Danny Etling, the Purdue transfer, completed 60% and threw only two interceptions this season. That’s just what head coach Ed Orgeron needs for him to do. We believe LSU can move the ball on the ground against Notre Dame, and Orgeron is arguably a much better motivator than Brian Kelly, head coach of the Irish. Let’s lay the points with LSU, which should be able to continue to take at least some of that momentum to Orlando with them.
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By Charles Jay