The Brian Kelly era is over at Notre Dame. And with it went the most successful period in Fighting Irish history since the Lou Holtz era of the late 1980s and early 90s.
The Irish went 54-8 in their last five seasons, including at least ten wins in each of them.
Marcus Freeman has been tabbed to take over, and although he’s only 36-years-old, he’s been coaching since 2010 as a graduate assistant at Ohio State. And after helping take Cincinnati’s program into the upper echelon as their defensive coordinator from 2017-2020, he took over the same role for Notre Dame last year.
Everyone, from his players, to the fans and the administration is excited for Freeman to take over and hopefully get that long awaited national championship.
He takes over a team brimming with returning talent and a strong recruiting class and we’ll know a lot early on with an opening weekend trip into the lion’s den that is Ohio State, the number two ranked team in the country.
A win there and the hype machine will certainly kick into high gear.
2022 Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAA Football Futures Odds
- Odds to win the 2022-23 NCAA Championship: 45/1
- 2022 Regular Season Win Total: Over 8½ (-160)
- Odds to Make the Playoffs: Yes +1000 | No -4000
- 2022 Heisman Contenders: Tyler Buchner +10000 & Michael Mayer +15000
- Official website: und.com
- Twitter Account : @NDFootball
Odds to win the 2022-23 NCAA Championship: 45/1
This is a team with a championship level ceiling if everything breaks right for them. Football of course is a game of inches and having at Ohio State, versus Clemson and at USC on the schedule means they will need those breaks and win at least two of those three to book their college playoff spot.
These are longer odds than similarly ranked teams. They have a ton of talent and experience on both sides of the ball along with a coach who seems to be able to get the best out of his players. That makes them a worthy underdog.
The Verdict: Worth a small bet
2022 Regular Season Win Total: Over 8½ (-160)
It is a new head coach, but when looking at recent Notre Dame seasons, in six of the last seven seasons (the one exception being their 4-8 season of 2016), this is a team that did not have even one loss to a team that won 8 or less games in their season.
This year’s slate has those monster three opponents of Ohio State, Clemson and USC, spread apart. They also have an early October game against #25 BYU played in Las Vegas.
The next tear includes a trip to North Carolina and Syracuse along with home games against California, Stanford and Boston College.
There is enough talent here, especially at quarterback, running back, tight end, linebacker, the secondary and both lines to like their chances.
The Verdict: Over 8½ (-160)
Odds to Make the Playoffs: Yes +1000 | No -4000
In spite all of the success in the Kelly era, they had just one playoff year and it was the awkward Covid season when they were full participants in a weak ACC.
Having a dual threat QB in Tyler Buchner entering his second season at the helm, having arguably the top TE in the nation in Michael Mayer and most of the receiving group and offensive line group returning makes for a dangerous offense.
There is NFL talent at each level of the defense, led by safety Brandon Joseph and these are long odds for a top-five team with a strong recent history of ten-win or more seasons under their belt.
When you add it all up, that makes them a strong underdog pick.
The Verdict: Worth a small bet
2022 Heisman Contenders: Tyler Buchner +10000, Michael Mayer +15000
While I expect a strong season from both QB Buchner and TE Mayer, they are both massive longshots to win the Heisman.
A tight end has never won the award, and there are quarterbacks with higher ceilings than what Buchner and his limited arm strength brings to the table.
The Verdict: Skip them both
Odds According to Bovada as of August, 2022
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2022 Schedule
| SEASON | |||
| Date | Time | Opponent | TV |
| 3-Sep | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 2 Ohio State | ABC |
| 10-Sep | 2:30 p.m. | Marshall | NBC |
| 17-Sep | 2:30 p.m. | California | NBC |
| 24-Sep | at North Carolina | ||
| 8-Oct | 7:30 p.m. | vs. BYU | NBC |
| 15-Oct | 7:30 p.m. | Stanford | NBC |
| 22-Oct | 2:30 p.m. | UNLV | Peacock |
| 29-Oct | at Syracuse | ||
| 5-Nov | 7:00 p.m. | Clemson | NBC |
| 12-Nov | 12:00 p.m. | vs. Navy | ABC/ESPN |
| 19-Nov | 2:30 p.m. | Boston College | NBC |
| 26-Nov | at USC | ||
Home stadium: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IN
*Non-conference game – All times are in Eastern time
Bet on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2022 Season at Bovada Sportsbook.
