Picking straight-up as opposed to against the spread, all six of USA TODAY\u2019s college football experts \u2014 Dan Wolken, Eddie Timanus, Erick Smith, Jace Evans, Paul Myerberg<\/strong> and<\/strong> Scooby Axson<\/strong><\/a> \u2014 picked Notre Dame to beat NC State.<\/p>\n \u201cNC State has the athleticism to push the Fighting Irish, but the Wolfpack\u2019s complete lack of explosiveness against UConn last week, combined with the fact that Huskies backs gained 142 yards on 19 carries, feels foreboding. SP+ says Irish by two touchdowns, and since Notre Dame fans tell me SP+ always hates their team, I have to assume that\u2019s a good sign.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Bill Connelly<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u201cNotre Dame has looked great out of the gate \u2014 laying more than a TD on the road in a pseudo-conference game feels a touch steep. Wolfpack plus the points.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Scott Van Pelt<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cDave Doeren and\u00a0NC State\u00a0are plenty familiar with [the Fighting Irish\u2019s] new quarterback, but\u00a0Sam Hartman<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is playing in a much different offense. Hartman will get the headlines, but don\u2019t be surprised if Notre Dame leans heavily on its running game against the Wolfpack. And it will be interesting to see how effective QB\u00a0Brennan Armstrong<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is against the Irish.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Stewart Mandel<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNotre Dame has put up big numbers on offense through two games but has done so against inferior competition. Things ramp up significantly with a trip to NC State on Saturday, and I think the Irish are in for a close game.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the questions I had about Notre Dame in the preseason have not been answered. I still am skeptical about the skill-position talent (particularly receiver) and the ability to get after the quarterback on defense. NC State is strong in the front seven, has really good cornerbacks and gave Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman fits when he played for Wake Forest. In his three games vs. Tony Gibson<\/strong>\u2019s defense, Hartman has thrown for 923 yards, but he has completed only 54.9% of his passes, with six touchdowns and six interceptions.<\/p>\n \u201cOn the other side, I like the ability for QB Brennan Armstrong to make some plays. Robert Anae, NC State\u2019s OC, has a knack for scheming things open, and Armstrong is a veteran player who can beat you with his arm and legs. NC State is 7-3 ATS in its past 10 as a home underdog, and I think the Wolfpack can keep this within a TD at home.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Sam Cooper<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cBetween a pair of strong performances from Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman and NC State\u2019s unremarkable win at UConn, a lopsided margin feels possible. DraftKings only lists ND as a 7.5-point favorite, though. Keep an eye on this contest in a thin noon window.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 David Kenyon<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post Notre Dame football score predictions: NC State vs. Fighting Irish national picks<\/a> appeared first on On3<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" USA TODAY: All six experts picked Notre Dame Picking straight-up as opposed to against the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16064","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16064\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demo.wztzfm.com\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}ESPN (Bill Connelly\/SP+): Notre Dame -7.5<\/h2>\n
ESPN (Scott Van Pelt): NC State +7.5<\/h2>\n
The Athletic: Notre Dame 31, NC State 20<\/h2>\n
Yahoo Sports: NC State +7.5<\/h2>\n
Bleacher Report: Notre Dame 34, NC State 20<\/h2>\n