College Football Notre Dame Fighting Irish Futures Specials

The BetMGM Sportsbook is currently offering four specials focused on college footballin the state of Indiana, including two focused on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish:

• Notre Dame to win the National Championship: +3000
• Notre Dame to win 9+games: -120

Should you bet or pass on each of these lines?

The Fighting Irish enter Marcus Freeman’s second season as the head coach in South Bend with a new offensive coordinator (Gerad Parker) and a new starting quarterback (Sam Hartman from Wake Forest), plus a terrific offensive line and a strong stable of running backs. 

The primary issue on offense is who Notre Dame can find to catch passes. Tight End Michael Mayer’s departure to the NFL is a hole Notre Dame likely cannot fill, and there is no proven weapon at wide receiver.

On defense, the Irish lost three starters on the D-line and had to rebuild the secondary. The teams contending for national titles have dominant D-lines, and Notre Dame does not have the horses up front to become a top-end line.

The schedule is demanding, with a trip to Clemson, home games against USC and Ohio State, and several other potentially challenging contests that could derail a playoff bid. The odds are long, but Notre Dame does not have the blue-chip talent necessary to think a national title is possible in 2023.

Verdict: Pass

This line requires Notre Dame to go 9-3 or better to cash in on your wager, with bettors paying a bit of juice at -110, but that’s not bad value at all. There are three marquee games on the Fighting Irish schedule: at Clemson, versus USC, and versus Ohio State.

The Fighting Irish might very well be underdogs in all three contests. In a worst-case scenario, Notre Dame goes 0-3 in those games. That’s not likely, as Hartman is a terrific quarterback.

The Irish have recruited at a high level (although not at a National Championship level yet), have a solid offensive line, and have enough talent on defense to think they could be strong on that side of the ball. If they can knock off USC or Ohio State at home, you have some wiggle room in this bet, but even in a worst-case scenario, Notre Dame would need to lose one more game not to cash the bet.

The games you consider ND firm favorites are Navy, Tennessee State, Central Michigan, and Pitt. Road games at North Carolina State, Duke, and Louisville are dangerous and need further analysis to feel good about things.

NC State and Duke have season-win total projections of 6.5 and are considered lower-end bowl teams but nothing more. Notre Dame will be favored and have the better quarterback in each game. The game at Louisville is a tricky proposition.

The Cardinals are in their first season under Jeff Brohm, with a win total of 8.5. That could be a real toss-up game.

You are counting on Notre Dame to avoid losing any games they shouldn’t lose and then win at least one toss-up game or game in which they will be an underdog to cash that bet. At odds of -120, that’s a good bet.

Verdict: Bet

Stay ahead of the game and elevate your sports betting experience with SportsGrid.