The Texas Longhorns (0-0) will visit the #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0-0) on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana. The game will televise at 7:30 pm ET on NBC. The current odds list Notre Dame as a 10-point favorite with the over/under set at 50.5.
Texas is going to begin the season loaded with freshman players. Junior Tyron Swoopes with be the starting quarterback. There is a good possibility that freshman Jerrod Heard will also see some playing time. Jonathon Gray will be in the backfield while Marcus Johnson will be the go to receiver for Swoopes. Texas will rely heavily on their defense which will most likely keep them in close games. They have a deadly secondary which is ranked #11 in the FBS. The Longhorns are 1-4 ATS in their last five games on grass.
Notre Dame is coming in off a mediocre season and will look to improve on that 8-5 record. Everett Golson transferred so they will rely on Malik Zaire to carry the team. He will have some good targets to throw at which includes William Fuller, Chris Brown and CJ Prosise. Tarean Folston will be the man in the backfield in what should be a run-heavy team. Notre Dame did not improve much on the defensive side of the ball so they will need to score to win games this year. The Fighting Irish are 1-4 ATS in their last five home games.
My Pick: Texas +10
I do not have a lot of confidence in the Fighting Irish at this point. They are a bit unknown on offense and the defense is lacking right now. I do not see them blowing teams out and I see no reason why Texas cannot keep this game within single digits if not win the game outright.