Ad Disclosure
Scott Van Pelt has a pick against the spread for this week’s top-25 showdown between Notre Dame and Army.
Van Pelt is taking Army +14.5 against the Fighting Irish. He made the pick as part of his weekly ‘Winners’ segment on Sports Center.
“Notre Dame destroyed Navy when they played a few weeks back, but we think Army battles the Irish for 4 quarters,” Van Pelt said, referring to Notre Dame’s 51-14 win over the Midshipmen last month.
Van Pelt is 4-4 all-time when picking Army as part of this segment, according to ESPN.
As Van Pelt alluded to, Notre Dame passed its first test against a service academy earlier this season when it met Navy. Notre Dame forced 6 turnovers in that demolition earlier this season, so Army will have to take better care of the ball if it hopes to put up a better fight against the Irish.
This is a must-win game for both programs if they hope to stay in the College Football Playoff mix. Notre Dame has already suffered 1 loss this season and would likely fall out of contention for a CFP berth if it loses for a second time. Army is currently undefeated, but is ranked 11 spots behind the top group-of-5 team (Boise State) in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.
Here’s video from Van Pelt’s full ‘Winners’ segment:
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
