The Notre Dame schedule kicked-off yesterday vs #20 Texas A&M at Kyle Field. The Irish led by newly transferred Duke QB Riley Leonard beat the Aggies 23-13.
The game itself was one of those tough fought defensive battle for much of the first half as both teams took to the locker rooms at halftime tied 6-6. The Irish behind some gutsy calls by head coach Marcus Freeman in the end prevailed behind their defense and what has been their bread and butter the last decade – their running game.
As a HUGE Irish fan I was stoked to see us win vs a Top 25 team to kickoff our 2024 season. That is where the excitement ended as I opened up social media and immediately saw that almost everyone in the world was already scrutinizing the Notre Dame schedule.
Are you serious, like for real the Notre Dame Schedule is the one you want to scrutinize?
The Notre Dame schedule is FAR from being the easiest in the country and the hate immediately about the Irish and their schedule should at least be held off until they play a week where they play a weaker opponent than the Texas A&M Aggies.
Other than the Georgia Bulldogs no other team in the Top 25 played a ranked opponent on Saturday. The Notre Dame schedule is only one of 6 teams that had a ranked opponent on it in Week 1 of college football.
Let’s go through some of the Top 25 and see these amazing teams that all the ranked teams faced yesterday and what they have coming up in the next month.
#2 Ohio State vs Akron – Yea, AK-ron a powerhouse, ha! They have Western Michigan and Marshall to round out their first 3 weeks. Talk about cupcakes.
#3 Oregon vs Idaho – Honestly this should give the Ducks fans a worry as they were only able to win 24-14. But, still an easy opponent and now they have to face Boise St. next week.
#4 Texas vs Colorado State – Do you see a pattern here with these cupcakes. The Longhorns who do play Michigan next week then have UTSA and ULM on their schedule to round out September.
#5 Alabama vs Western Kentucky – Of all the teams in the country to compare to the Notre Dame schedule this one has to be the worse. Every year when every other team is fighting for conference position they play Mrs. Smith’s Third Grade Class in November. This year it’s Mercer.
#6 Ole Miss vs Furman – This has to be easiest first four week schedule in all of the NCAA. They play MTSU, Wake Forest and then Georgia Southern the next three weeks.
As you can see in just a few examples these “Top” teams in college football do not even come close to having a tough schedule for the first month of the season. To scrutinize the Notre Dame schedule after they were one of only 6 teams in the Top 25 to play a decent opponent is ridiculous.
The debate about Notre Dame’s strength of schedule is as old as college football itself, and every time they rack up a win, the same arguments resurface.
This year, it’s no different. Skeptics argue that Notre Dame’s status as an independent team gives them too much freedom in choosing their opponents. They claim the schedule lacks the week-to-week grind of a Power 5 conference and doesn’t measure up to other top programs.
But here’s the thing: Notre Dame isn’t exactly playing cupcakes every week. They traditionally line up against a range of high-quality opponents, from storied rivals like USC and Stanford to ACC powerhouses like Clemson. The reality is that it’s hard to deny the quality of competition when the Irish routinely face at least a few top 25 teams each season.
So, why the hate? Is it because they play outside a traditional conference? Is it envy of their storied history? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s the simple fact that some people love to root against the Notre Dame mystique.
Regardless, as long as Notre Dame keeps winning, the haters will keep hating. And for the Irish faithful, that’s just fine – because it’s all part of the game.
Day #32 of Sportsbetting
Today’s Starting Bankroll: $1,923.06
Bet Size: $19.23
I finally lost a NCAAF bet yesterday, but was just a FG away from sweeping college football again. I went 2-3 but challenge bet did win!
$200 ➡️ $200K Challenge Bet: Milwall vs Sheffield Wednesday Over 2.5
- A shoutout to Milwall who got the job done all by themselves. Not only that but they did it all in the second half of the match. They scored in the 58′, 71′ and the 88′ for a 3-0 win.
Stevenage vs Lincoln City Over 2.5
- This was an absolute swing and a miss. There were only 2 SOG and if your keeping score at home you know that you would need at least 3 to hit the Over 2.5. I was very disappointed in this one.
Morecambe vs Newport County Over 2.5
- With a goal in the 9′ I thought this was going to at least be a bet that had a chance to get there, especially with Newport being the team to take the 1-0 lead. Morecambe at home was the better team and on the pitch they had 20 goal attempts and 5 SOG. They just could not net a goal.
Virgina Tech vs Vanderbilt Over 48.5
- Although this game went to overtime, my bet was won in regulation thanks to Virginia Tech and the fight they put up in the second half. Vandy had a 17-3 lead going into halftime but the Hokies came out and scored 24 points in the second half and really forced Vanderbilt to not phone it in. With a 27-27 score at the end of regulation our bet won. Vandy ended up playing 4 downs of defense in OT to secure a 34-27 victory.
UTEP vs Nebraska Over 48.5
- This was my first lose in college football this season and it was a heartbreaker. 44 points were scored through 3 quarters and because Nebraska was up 37-7 it seemed like both teams were content with just running the clock out. A single FG was made in the 4th and I think we were screwed on this one.
Nevada vs Troy Over 44.5
- This was a nice win as it looked like with just 20 points and some stagnant offenses in the first half that we would not hit this over. Nevada though by themselves put up 22 points in the 2nd half and held on to win a 28-26 close game.
Parlay of the Day: NCAAF
- I went 3-6 on the parlay. It was decided quickly as Clemson put up 3 points on Georgia and killed the over. Suprised that Michigan had trouble with Fresno St and Charlotte despite playing well for most of the first half lost rather easily. Wyoming also never left the bus as Arizona State blew them out.
Day #31 Profit/Loss: – $21.16
What I Learned:
Over’s Correlate with Close Games: I think what I learned most in Week 1 of College Football is that if there are going to be close games such as Nevada vs Troy or Virginia Tech vs Vanderbilt these are good building blocks to look at for Overs. Even look at Pittsburgh and Kent State. These two teams put up a ton of points and it was because the offenses had to match one another. This also might be a hack that you can look at when live betting.
Day #32 Best Bets Today
$200K Challenge
- Level 1.2 ($4 ➡️ $8): Gleyber Torres Over 2.5 HRR (+135)
#1) Serie A: Genoa vs Verona Over 2.5 (+137)
#2) NCAAF: USC +4 (-110)
#3) MLB: Pirates vs Guardians Over 8 (-110)
Parlay of the Day: 2+ RBI’s
Jonathan India +650 | Matt Chapman +425 | Bryce Harper +425
