A plurality of bettors expect the Fighting Irish to make this a game against the Buckeyes, according to the latest spread consensus picks for the matchup. Notre Dame is getting 65 percent of bets ...

If the line continues to move toward Notre Dame (say, to +7.5 or +7), it signals even stronger market confidence in the team's ability to compete or potentially pull off an outright upset.

And with those increased statistical touchpoints over the longer playoff schedule, we can be more confident that those calculations are saying ... which makes Notre Dame a value pick, even if ...

according to the spread consensus picks for the game. Notre Dame is getting 64 percent of bets to either upset Ohio State and win the national championship, or keep the game under 9 points in a loss.

Nothing is logical about this, dare I say, magical run ... I'll start here - this is a weird game for me to pick, personally, because I helped Notre Dame recruit 20-ish players on both sides ...