By Chris Harris Contributor
Updated 8/15/23 3:16pm ET
With college football conference realignment dominating the news lately, Notre Dame happily sits outside the fray. However, the program is taking advantage of another relocating trend: the transfer portal.
Star quarterback Sam Hartman leaves Wake Forest after six seasons and 77 touchdown passes the past two years with the hopes of resurrecting a fan base craving national championship relevance. The 24-year-old has the eighth-shortest Heisman Trophy odds at +1600 (16 to 1). Wide receiver Tim Brown in 1987 is the last Irish player to win the prestigious award.
Notre Dame could end up with one of the nation’s hardest schedules, given three opponents currently are ranked in the top 10. Marcus Freeman went 9-4 in his debut season and welcomes several transfers, in addition to Hartman, hoping to become the hunted and not the hunter. Over the last decade, Notre Dame is just 20-22 against ranked teams and 4-11 against top-10 teams.
Notre Dame Single-Game Season Odds:
| WEEK | OPPONENT | DATE | favorite/Spread/Odds | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Navy | Aug. 26 | Notre Dame (-20.5) | 50.5 |
| 1 | Tennessee State | Sep. 2 | – | – |
| 2 | @ NC State | Sep. 9 | – | – |
| 3 | Central Michigan | Sep. 16 | – | – |
| 4 | Ohio State | Sep. 23 | – | – |
| 5 | @ Duke | Sep. 30 | – | – |
| 6 | @ Louisville | Oct. 7 | – | – |
| 7 | USC | Oct. 14 | – | – |
| 9 | Pittsburgh | Oct. 28 | – | – |
| 10 | @ Clemson | Nov. 4 | – | – |
| 12 | Wake Forest | Nov. 18 | – | – |
| 13 | @ Stanford | Nov. 25 | – | – |
Home dates against Ohio State and USC and a road trip to Clemson loom large on the schedule. Notre Dame’s regular-season win total is 8.5.
*Odds courtesy of DraftKings
Photo credit: Shutterstock
