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2024 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football Predictions and Betting Odds

by Joey House - 8/23/2024

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football predictions Xavier Watts

2023 record: 10-3 SU, 9-3-1 ATS

PPG: 39.2 (7th of 133)

Opp PPG: 15.9 (7th of 133)

Head Coach: Marcus Freeman (19-7 in 2 seasons)

Notre Dame 2024 Reg. Season Wins Over 10 -115/Under 10 -105

Make 2024-2025 CFP Yes -160

Win Nation Title +2200

Notre Dame Football 2023 Recap

The first season of the Marcus Freeman era didn't start with a bang but rather a whimper, as Notre Dame limped through a 9-4 season in 2022. After just one lackluster season, Freeman found himself on the hot seat. However, the Fighting Irish rebounded nicely in 2923 with a 10-3 campaign, winning on the road against an upstart, ranked Duke squad. Notre Dame also demolished their long-time nemesis, the USC Trojans, by four touchdowns. Close losses to Ohio State and Clemson were disappointing but not horrible. Following an absolute obliteration of Oregon State, 40-8, in the Sun Bowl, expectations returned to the normal stratosphere where Notre Dame resides. Will these expectations manifest into an appearance in the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff?

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish Offense (6 returning starters)

The Irish seemed to have turned to the "Rent-A-Quarterback," as last year's starter was Wake Forest transfer Sam Hartman, and now, this year, they are turning to another ACC QB, Duke transfer Riley Leonard. Hartman was the second-leading passer in ACC history. Leonard lacks Hartman's skills and stats, but one thing the new Irish QB has in spades is moxie. Notre Dame loses 2nd-team All-American running back Audric Estime but has a stable of highly-touted backs and should be fine. The most significant question mark the Irish face will be a highly inexperienced offensive line with only one returning starter and just 34 starts among the entire group. However, it is Notre Dame football. And with an average recruiting class of 11.4 over the past five seasons, the offensive linemen waiting to start will be fine.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defense (9 returning starters)

Notre Dame's 2023 defense, which returned eight starters from 2022, was the best stop-unit since the 2012 Fighting Irish squad, which surrendered just 12.8 ppg en route to a BCS Championship appearance. With nine starters returning from last season, dreams of defensive glory are running rampant in the Fighting Irish faithful, and with good reason. Up front, they return three starters and bring in another Duke player, DE RJ Oben. Most college football analysts rate the Irish's defensive line in the top three nationally. Notre Dame's linebacking corps must replace their 3-time leading tackler, JD Bertrand. Still, with the addition of Arizona State transfer Jordan Clark, and a deep rotation, the linebacker unit is quite deep and highly talented. The secondary sees 1st-team All-American Xavier Watts and his nation-leading seven interceptions return. Notre Dame also added another DB from Northwestern, Rod Heard, who made 13 starts and racked up 85 tackles for the Wildcats a season ago. While it will be difficult to improve on last year's stout defense, this year's edition has the talent to do just that.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Schedule

One of Notre Dame's most significant challenges each season is making a schedule. In this day and age of super conferences becoming like black holes in the galaxy and sucking in every team, independent teams like the Irish find scheduling to be difficult. In 1984, there were 21 Independent schools; in 2024, three. However, Notre Dame is a brand unto itself and, as such, can weather the storm. The Irish open on the road, traveling to College Station to take on 20th-ranked Texas A&M, and opened up as a 3-point underdog. The next game where they won't be favored by more than two touchdowns is when they host No. 10 Florida State on Nov. 9th. They end the regular season by visiting sunny California and playing their traditional rivalry game against USC. If this were any other team, the difficulty of this schedule would be a significant issue. But, because Notre Dame is a brand name of its own, it won't be a factor. Their win total is ten and juiced slightly to it, but I expect that vig to increase.

Predictions for Notre Dame Fighting Irish

South Bend is once again buzzing with electricity for the upcoming Notre Dame football season… and with good reason. The team has a solid foundation on which to build each week during the season. They play only three true road games and have three other matchups at neutral sites. The schedule is constructed perfectly to allow the team to gel together. If they win their opening game at Texas A&M, the Fighting Irish have a great shot of going undefeated. I would avoid betting on them individually to make the playoffs, but they would be great to throw in as a leg of a parlay. The payout of a 3-leg parlay of Ohio State, Georgia, and Notre Dame to make the playoffs is better than even money.

Notre Dame Football Game to Key On

Aug. 31st at Texas A&M—I know it might be cliche to key on the first game, but I think the game has tremendous value. The Fighting Irish are currently a field goal underdog, although I expect that to move closer to a pick'em by game time. As long as Notre Dame remains an underdog, I'll be taking them on the moneyline. I'll also be looking at the under, which opened at 50.5 and has moved 4 points already. If it gets to 44.5, I won't be interested any longer.

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