What chance are the College Football odds makers giving the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to make it back to the BCS Championship game next season, and are they worth adding to our NCAAF picks?
Notre Dame got absolutely destroyed last night in the BCS
National Title game against Alabama, leaving many wondering if they actually
deserved to have been in the title match at all. Today we will take a look at
the early College Football odds on the Fighting Irish making their way back to
the Championship game.
+2000
The Greek has been the only book to release College Football
betting lines on next year’s future odds, and they have listed the Irish at
+2000. To be quite honest, we think that is awfully low given how poorly they
played last night, and I believe that it should it should be around the +4000 mark.
Brian Kelly said it best when he was interviewed going into the half down 28-0.
When Kelly was asked “What do you do in
the second half to get your team back into this ball game” Kelly responded with
“Hope Alabama doesn't show up.” Need I say anymore?
Taking a look at the
Notre Dame 2013 schedule
The 2013 schedule is quite similar to the 2012 slate for the
Irish, and to be honest, even if they run the table again, after last night’s
embarrassment, it's going to be hard for the poll voters to put them in the
National Title game once again.
This year they struggled at home against Pitt and BYU, and the
team should have lost to Stanford. That, and the fact that their talented
senior class is leaving, it is hard to believe that the Irish can repeat the success
they had this season.
Notre Dame will open up the season at home against Temple, and
then travel to the Big House to take on Michigan. After that they will be faced
will a tough task of visiting the Purdue Boilermakers, a team they just barely defeated
on their home field. They then make a tough
run against Michigan State, Oklahoma and Arizona State. They could drop any one
of those three games. Then its back home for USC, at Air Force, Navy, at Pitt,
back home for BYU and then they close the season out by visiting Stanford. Note
that they still have two open games on the slate that they need to fill.
Irish need to take it
to another level if they want to compete with SEC
Yes, they are back from the dead and the Irish are relevant
once again, but the Fighting Irish need to get on the recruiting trail and get
some big bodies in there if they ever expect to compete with SEC type teams.
Last but not least, they need to mix their schedule up quite a bit. Playing the
same schools year in and year out is not going to make you tougher or better, and
while it can help to rack up some wins, but it doesn’t prepare you to face new
competition.
The Alabama Crimson Tide go through their year playing against teams like
LSU, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Florida week in and week out while Notre Dame
struggles at home with Pitt and BYU. Brian Kelly needs to hit the recruiting
trail hard, get his team into the weight room and change his scheduling if he
ever wants to have a chance of competing with the big dogs of the SEC.
Make no mistake, the Irish are a good football team, and we
aren't trashing them. They had a hell of a year and they do deserve a ton of
respect as they brought this team back to it’s glory days.
Save your money on the +2000 and wait till the Irish learn
how to become successful and play with the big boys.