The Fiesta Bowl provided future Notre Dame opponents a blueprint about how to slow down the Irish offense. Pressure Heisman hopeful Brady Quinn from various angles and see if he holds up. Georgia Tech had great success in doing so and with Penn State’s phenomenal linebacking core, they too should provide the Irish with problems.
Anthony Morelli was solid in quarterbacking debut for the Nittany Lions and has explosive wide receivers like Derrick Williams to throw to. Charley Weis was unhappy the way his five returning starting linemen failed to handle the Yellow Jackets blitzes. He knows his team will see more of the same this week and set-up game plan accordingly. The Irish defense shutdown a conservative attack last week and will face a more aggressive challenge in this game. Note Dame, an 8-point favorite, lost two games at South Bend in Weis first season and Joe Pa’s teams are 5-2 ATS as a visitor in most recent games. At the very least, backdoor potential is there with an outright upset a possibility.
Click here for the entire board of college football odds and props