Notre Dame 2011 Season Odds
(The Spread) – Brian Kelly has won championships everywhere he has coached. Can he lead Notre Dame to a title in his second season as coach?
The Irish were 8-5 last season in Kelly’s first year and the second-year coach has a career record of 61-27 in Division I football, winning conference titles with Cincinnati and Central Michigan before coming to Notre Dame. In Division II, Kelly won 118 games and multiple national titles. This season, Kelly has 19 starters returning, which is why many see the Irish as a dark horse to win the national title.
According to oddsmakers, Notre Dame has 25/1 odds to win the 2012 BCS National Championship and oddsmakers have set the over/under win total for Notre Dame at 8.5 this season.
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Notre Dame hasn’t won a national championship since 1988. But, this year’s team looks solid as it has stud receiver Michael Floyd and quarterback Dayne Crist back to lead the offense. Floyd had 79 receptions for 1,025 yards and 12 touchdowns last season. Despite some off-the-field issues during the offseason, Floyd will play this season. Crist threw for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns despite missing some time with an injury. Floyd enters the season with 40/1 odds of winning the Heisman Trophy while Crist has 75/1 odds. On defense, Notre Dame returns 8 starters from a group that allowed 20 points per contest. Manti Te’O, a All-America selection, is back to lead the group after racking up 133 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss in 2010.
Last season marked the first time in the last five seasons that Kelly had not won at least 9 games in a season. For Notre Dame, the Irish haven’t won at least 9 games since 2006. This season, Notre Dame has a competitive schedule, facing Michigan State, USC, and Navy at home while hitting the road to play Michigan, Pittsburgh, and Stanford.
The Fighting Irish were 7-4-2 against the spread in 2010. It was just the third time in eight seasons that Notre Dame had a winning record against the spread. The Irish were 4-1 against the spread on the road and just 2-4-2 at home. Notre Dame hit the under in 9 of 13 lined games in 2010, including 7 of their 8 homes games.
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