FiveDimes recently released over/under regular season win totals for college football teams.
Here is an early season look at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Over/under
FiveDimes has Notre Dame at nine regular season wins. Last year, the Fighting Irish were 7-5 in the regular season. The line features a better return on the over at +110, while the under is at -150.
The upside
High expectations by the public aren’t being matched by oddsmakers. While Notre Dame is a top-15 ranked team by pollsters, oddsmakers have set the over/under at nine wins, and have made it almost not worth taking the under because the number is so juiced.
Why is there such a different take on the Irish? It’s likely the schedule, which like usual, features enough toss-up games that should make any bettor worried about the over and the under.
On a good note, the Irish square off against Temple, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and Boston College in consecutive weeks late in the season. All four of those games should feature Notre Dame as heavy favorites. Mix in games against UMass, Virginia and Navy, and the Irish should have seven games where they should be comfortable in the favorite role.
And it’s not as if Notre Dame won’t have talent. The offensive line should be stellar and Malik Zaire showed promising signs last year at the quarterback position. Head coach Brian Kelly can coach, and this year, the offense should continue its upward swing.
On defense, most of the players from last year are back. The defense wasn’t spectacular last season, but a year of experience should do them well. Notre Dame should be improved on both sides of the ball.
The downside
There’s seven games where the Irish should be in the favorite role.
It’s the other five games that should worry bettors. The Irish must face Texas, Georgia Tech and USC at home, while traveling to Stanford and Clemson. Georgia Tech, USC, Stanford and Clemson are all expected to challenge to be in the 10-win range, meaning the Irish will at least be underdogs on the road.
And while Zaire showed promise in limited action last season, he doesn’t have enough snaps yet to showcase his true ability. Kelly has been a proven asset for quarterbacks, but there are still question marks that surround Zaire entering the season.
Defensively, the Irish suffered through a downward trend in the latter stages of the season in 2014. If that trend continues, the Irish will struggle to stop quality offenses like Georgia Tech, Clemson and USC.
The verdict
Bettors will likely have seven games in the bag for wins. To get to 10 victories, the Irish will likely have to take care of business at home against the Yellow Jackets, Trojans and Longhorns. We’re confident in the Irish against the Longhorns, but to sweep through the Trojans and the Yellow Jackets, which we are high on for having a double-digit win season, is a little too much to ask.
The under is hardly worth the return, but that’s the safest pick with the Irish.
