Notre Dame’s 4-Team College Football Playoff Odds Keep Improving Despite Daunting Schedule
By Angelo Montilla in College Football
Updated: March 31, 2020 at 11:32 am EDTPublished:
- Notre Dame is rising up the 2019-20 College Football Playoff futures
- The Fighting Irish face Georgia early in the season and have three games against likely top-25 teams
- But it’s not the most difficult schedule in college football; that honor goes to Texas A&M
Coming off its first-ever playoff appearance, Notre Dame will be eager to return to college football’s biggest stage when the 2019-20 campaign gets underway. The oddsmakers give the Fighting Irish a fighting chance, listing the team at +300 and +350, respectively, to qualify for the four-team playoff. When CFP odds first opened, Notre Dame was at +450.
2019-20 College Football Playoff Odds
| Team | Book 1 Odds | Book 2 Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama Crimson Tide | -250 | -270 |
| Clemson Tigers | -280 | -400 |
| Georgia Bulldogs | +110 | -105 |
| Michigan Wolverines | +300 | +250 |
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | +300 | +350 |
| Ohio State Buckeyes | +160 | +165 |
| Oklahoma Sooners | +145 | +120 |
| Texas Longhorns | +350 | +425 |
*Odds as of July 4, 2019.
The Fighting Irish couldn’t have asked for a better regular season in 2018. The program took an unblemished 12-0 record into the Cotton Bowl before losing by 27 points to eventual champion Clemson. But that will be a tall order next season, given what lies ahead.
Tough Schedule for Fighting Irish
Earlier this year, 247Sports judged the Irish to have the tenth-toughest schedule among title contenders. Their stiffest test of all comes in just the third game of the year, when Notre Dame travels to Athens to face the Georgia Bulldogs (Sep. 21st).
The Fighting Irish also have road games at Michigan (Oct. 26th) and Stanford (Nov. 30th) on the schedule.
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Games against Duke and Virginia Tech pose real threats for the Fighting Irish, as well, as the program looks to secure a spot in the College Football Playoff for a second straight season.
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Top Odds for Bulldogs
The good news for Notre Dame is that other programs ranked in the top 25 have tougher schedules.
Georgia for instance, will have to play five potential top-25 teams, including Notre Dame, Auburn and Texas A&M. The Aggies were listed as having the toughest schedule in college football, featuring games against Clemson, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU.
But just because other teams have it worse doesn’t make Notre Dame a good bet at this price. A single loss will make it difficult for Notre Dame tp crack the playoff field, since they won’t have a conference championship game to bolster their resume, and it’s much more likely that this team winds up 10-2 or 9-3.
The Fighting Irish will be in a top bowl game, but not the national semifinals.
Sports Writer
Angelo Montilla is a writer, visual design instructor and graphic designer based on the East Coast. As a journalism graduate, his experience in the media industry spans more than 15 years and includes work with Nation Network, SportsBreak, Featurd, Hockey Writers and the Windsor Star.
