The Pittsburgh Panthers will travel to Notre Dame, Indiana to face the 14^th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday afternoon in week 9 of the college football season with the game airing nationally at 3:30 PM ET on NBC.

Pittsburgh enters this game with a record of 2-5 following a 17-21 loss on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons while failing to cover the 3-point spread as a road favorite in week 8 of the college football season. The Panthers scored 17 points while compiling a total of 414 yards offensively which included 302 passing yards and 112 rushing yards while allowing 21 points and 323 total yards defensively which included 151 passing yards and 172 rushing yards. Christian Veilleux led the team in passing, completing 28 of 45 attempts for 302 yards and two touchdowns while adding six rushing yards. C’Bo Flemister led the team in rushing with 23 carries for 105 yards. Bub Means led the team in receiving, catching nine of 17 targets for 109 yards and a touchdown.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter this game ranked 14^th in the AP Poll and 14^th in the Coaches Poll with a record of 6-2 following a 48-20 win at home against the USC Trojans while covering the 3-point spread as a home favorite in week 7 of the college football season. Notre Dame scored 48 points while compiling a total of 251 yards offensively which included 126 passing yards and 125 rushing yards while allowing 20 points and 306 total yards defensively which included 203 passing yards and 103 rushing yards. Sam Hartman led the team in passing, completing 13 of 20 attempts for 126 yards and two touchdowns while adding 12 rushing yards. Audric Estime led the team in rushing with 22 carries for 95 yards and two touchdowns while adding a reception for four yards. Chris Tyree led the team in receiving, catching two of three targets for 62 yards and a touchdown.

BookMaker has the Notre Dame Fighting Irish listed as 20.5-point favorites at home against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday afternoon in week 9 of the college football season. Notre Dame has won seven of the last ten including the previous three matchups. The Panthers are 5-4-1 ATS in the last ten while the Fighting Irish are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Pittsburgh Panthers are 2-5 ATS overall, 0-3 ATS on the road, and 1-2 ATS as an underdog this season while the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are 5-2-1 ATS overall, 2-1-1 ATS at home and 5-2 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Notre Dame is the better team this season and has been the better team at covering the spread going 5-2-1 ATS overall while Pittsburgh is 2-5 ATS overall. The Panthers have also failed to cover the spread in their road games this season going 0-3 ATS on the road and have gone 1-2 ATS in the last three games against the Fighting Irish which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home in week 9 of the college football season.