Notre Dame Football: Las Vegas releases early point spreads for 6 games on Fighting Irish schedule

Las Vegas has announced point spreads for six different Notre Dame football games in 2022, less than two months before the season kicks off.

FanDuel has announced spreads on six Notre Dame football games, against Ohio State, Cal, BYU, Stanford, Clemson, and USC. This comes in Marcus Freeman’s first season as Notre Dame’s head coach. Among those games are several marquee matchups, including against Freeman’s alma mater–Ohio State. Plus, the season ends with a trip to Lincoln Riley’s USC.

The Irish are favorites in only half of the games that were announced. In a couple of those games, they’re big favorites, though.

The Spreads

• Ohio State (@Ohio State)
  • Irish +14.5
• California (@Notre Dame)
  • Irish -17.5
• BYU (@Allegiant Stadium)
  • Irish -6.5
• Stanford (@Notre Dame)
  • Irish -17
• Clemson (@Notre Dame)
  • Irish +3
• USC (@USC)
  • Irish +2.5

What does this mean for Notre Dame?

Notre Dame has an incredibly difficult 2022 schedule, with several elite opponents. That starts with Ohio State, where Notre Dame is currently a two-touchdown underdog. The Irish have a new head coach and will be playing an inexperienced quarterback. Going into the Horseshoe and pulling off an upset would send shockwaves through the sport.

Notre Dame plays Stanford every year, but the Cardinal have been struggling lately. This year the game is held in South Bend, which only helps the Irish. Stanford’s PAC-12 rival Cal is coming off a challenging year and traveling to South Bend as well. Vegas doesn’t expect either game to be close.

The BYU game is being held in Las Vegas itself, where Notre Dame is expected to win by a touchdown or so. This, incidentally, is the Shamrock Series, which means Notre Dame will be wearing an alternate uniform for the game. It’s also a series where the Irish have never lost a game.

November sees the Irish play several rivals, including Navy and Boston College. Lines aren’t out on those games, yet. However, in their other two November matchups, Notre Dame is an underdog to Clemson and USC. In both cases, they’re about a field goal underdog. Clemson travels to South Bend, while the Irish go to Los Angeles. Usually, home field is worth about three points in spreads, so the USC game really is a coin toss.

There is a lot to learn about every team before the season starts. There’s even more that will factor into the games being played in November. Things like injuries and how teams adjust under new coaches remain to be seen. So, expect lines to move before then.