The 1-1 Central Michigan Chippewas travel to take on the #9-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon in week 3 of the college football season. The Chippewas enter this game with a record of 1-1 following a 7-31 loss on the road in week 1 against the Michigan State Spartans while winning in week 2 at home against the New Hampshire Wildcats by a score of 45-42 while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter this game with a record of 3-0 following wins against the Navy Midshipmen by a score of 42-3, a 56-3 win against the Tennessee State Tigers at home, and a 45-24 win on the road against the NC State Wolfpack. Will Notre Dame improve to 4-0 this season in a rout or will Central Michigan keep the game closer than Vegas expects? Let’s take a look at how these teams have fared this season.

The Central Michigan Chippewas enter this game with a record of 1-1 following a 45-42 win at home against the New Hampshire Wildcats while failing to cover the 7-point spread as a home favorite. Central Michigan scored 45 points while compiling a total of 440 total yards offensively which included 204 passing yards and 236 rushing yards while allowing 42 points and 538 total yards defensively which included 493 passing yards and 45 rushing yards. Bert Emanuel Jr. led the team in passing, completing 7 of 19 attempts for 193 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for 101 yards and two touchdowns. Myles Bailey led the team in rushing with 21 carries for 108 yards and a touchdown. Chris Parker led the team in receiving with three receptions for 124 yards.

Notre Dame enters this game ranked 9^th in the AP Poll and 11^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 3-0 following a 45-24 win on the road against the NC State Wolfpack while covering the 7-point spread as a road favorite. The Fighting Irish scored 45 points while compiling 456 total yards offensively which included 286 passing yards and 170 rushing yards while allowing 24 points and 344 total yards defensively which included 260 passing yards and 84 rushing yards. Sam Hartman led the team in passing, completing 15 of 24 attempts for 286 yards and four touchdowns. Audric Estime led the team in rushing with 14 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns while adding two receptions for 22 yards. Holden Staes led the team in receiving, catching four of five targets for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

BookMaker has the Notre Dame Fighting Irish listed as 34.5-point favorites at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas on Saturday afternoon in week 3 of the college football season. This will be the first time in the history of these two programs that they will face each other in college football. Central Michigan is 0-2 ATS overall, 0-1 ATS on the road, and 0-1 ATS as an underdog while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 3-0 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS at home, and 3-0 ATS as a favorite.

Notre Dame is the superior team in terms of talent this season and enters this game ranked 9^th in the AP Poll and 11^th in the Coaches Poll. The Fighting Irish have been the better team at covering the spread this season going 3-0 ATS overall and 3-0 ATS as a favorite while the Chippewas are 0-2 ATS overall and 0-1 ATS as an underdog. I look for those trends to continue in this matchup which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the Notre Dame Fighting Irish -34 at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas in week 3 of the college football season on BookMaker.