Latest Notre Dame Football Odds, Honors, Discussion: Sept. 15
Once again, Notre Dame is a heavy favorite to win at home.
The Irish are a 25-point favorite against South Florida this Saturday (2:30 p.m, USA Network), per VegasInsider, after opening at 26.5. They began the season with a 27-13 win over Duke, but did not cover the 20.5-point spread.
Notre Dame's latest national championship odds are longer, though. BetOnline's current 25/1 odds are down from 12/1 last week, but still the eighth-highest among all college football teams playing this year.
Here's a roundup of some other national media mentions of Notre Dame.
SP+
Notre Dame is 10th in the latest SP+ efficiency rankings, calculated by ESPN's Bill Connelly. The Irish are 10th in offensive SP+ and 12th in defensive SP+.
Weekly Honors
• Notre Dame was Pro Football Focus’ offensive line of the week, and four players were named to PFF's team of the week: tackle Liam Eichenberg, guard Aaron Banks, center Jarrett Patterson and cornerback TaRiq Bracy.
“Notre Dame’s TaRiq Bracy was a truly underrated corner last year, despite the fact that he led all FBS cornerbacks in the percentage of contested targets forced,’ PFF’s Anthony Treash wrote. “The reason why he was being overlooked — and rightfully so — was how often he lost at the catch point.
“Against Duke, he saw three targets on 43 coverage snaps, forced a contested target on two of them and subsequently forced an incompletion on both of them. In all, he didn’t allow a single yard on the day. That right there is what we call a shutdown game.”
• Notre Dame had two players in PFF's latest top-100 draft board: Eichenberg (44th) and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (55th).
Power Rankings Appearances
• Fourth in CBSSports' power rankings:
"A veteran offensive line wasn't overly impressive, but it was enough in a two-touchdown win over Duke. Weird to see the Fighting Irish tied for the ACC lead."
• Sixth in the CBSSports 76 ranking of all FBS teams playing this fall.
• Seventh in ESPN's power rankings:
"Notre Dame knows exactly what it's going to get this season from steady veteran quarterback Ian Book, and that's always comforting for a head coach. But the Irish will be looking for additional impact players on offense, and sophomore running back Kyren Williams has all the tools to be one of those guys."
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