Notre Dame CFP Betting Odds

Notre Dame was the last contender to kick off its 2019 season. The Fighting Irish opened their campaign with a road trip to Louisville to take on a rebuilding Cardinals team on Labor Day. They left with a 35-17 victory, but they failed to cover any number as the NCAAF betting odds saw Notre Dame open as a three-touchdown favorite and close as a 19-point favorite. It was the 13th straight regular season victory for Brian Kelly’s squad, and they now have a week to rest.

ODDS TO WIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS
NOTRE DAME +4000

Before the season kicked off, Notre Dame was 50-1 to win the CFP National Championship. Although none of the major contenders lost in Week 1, plenty of teams underperformed, and that has led to bettors gaining confidence in the Irish. A less then menacing schedule has helped influence the odds too, and Notre Dame’s CFP title odds could continue to drop as some contenders play veritable elimination games this weekend.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Irish have an early week off, so they won’t play again until they host New Mexico on September 14. Notre Dame will be hosting former head coach Bob Davie in that game, and the Irish are going to be around a four-touchdown favorite against a Lobos team that is ranked 114th in the nation according to Bill Connelly’s SP+.

Notre Dame isn’t going to show much in that game as the Irish face their first real test of the season the following week when they take on Georgia in Athens. That is almost certain to be a matchup between two Top 10 teams, since the Bulldogs host FCS Murray State and Arkansas State prior to that tilt. Georgia is projected to be at minimum a 30-point favorite in both games per the CFB betting odds.

After the Irish take on Georgia, they will face a tricky test at home against ACC Coastal favorite Virginia. Notre Dame could be just a single-digit favorite in that game as the Wahoos have a strong chance of entering that tilt at 4-0, but a game against USC two weeks later is significantly less formidable with the news that starting QB JT Daniels has suffered a season-ending injury.

INJURY SITUATION

Unfortunately, things aren’t great on the injury front for Notre Dame. The Irish announced that RB Jafar Armstrong will be sidelined until mid-October with a groin injury after coming off injured early in the first quarter against Louisville. Armstrong was one of the team’s best offensive weapons, particularly as a receiver out of the backfield, so his absence will hurt.

The team is also anxiously awaiting word about the status of TE Cole Kmet. Kmet suffered a broken collarbone during the offseason, and Notre Dame is hoping that an MRI on Thursday will lead to their starting tight end being cleared to return to practice. While the Irish won’t need him against New Mexico, they will need all hands on deck against Georgia.

SEASON TO DATE

Notre Dame had some initial trouble with Louisville on Monday. The Irish were only up by seven points at halftime, and they needed to open things up in the passing game to put the Cardinals away. This team ran the ball on 12 of its first 18 plays, and it seemed obvious that Kelly wanted to get in and get out without showing anything real in terms of scheme. They didn’t have to show too much, but Notre Dame did have to go out of its shell to ensure it won the game by a comfortable margin.

There might be some real issues on defense though. Louisville had a lot of success running the ball against Notre Dame, averaging 5.3 yards per carry on the day. The Cardinals shot themselves in the foot often with three turnovers and eight penalties, so they weren’t able to fully capitalize on that success, but they did prove you can run the ball on the Irish.

Those are problems that defensive coordinator Clark Lea must address. Lea did well in replacing Mike Elko last season, but last year’s defense had a lot of NFL talent. Those stars are no longer in South Bend, so he will have a lot of work to do before Notre Dame takes on Georgia in a little more than two weeks. If the Irish can’t stop the run in that game, we might see something akin to the 2013 BCS National Championship Game. Notre Dame wants no memory of that dreadful performance.

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