The Notre Dame Fighting Irish went undefeated in the regular season in 2012. Their lone loss came in the National Championship game. While the Irish may be without Manti Te’o and Everett Golson the expectations remain high for Brian Kelly’s squad.
Currently ranked No. 14, Notre Dame still views itself as a National Championship contender.
On Saturday the first game of the season will take place as the Temple Owls visit Notre Dame Stadium. Coverage of the game will air on NBC beginning at 3:30 pm ET.
So what are the betting odds on this one?
Notre Dame is a 29.5 point favorite against Temple. The over/under is currently 53 total points.
Even without Te’o, a big key to Notre Dame early on this season will be the eight returning members of the defense. Notre Dame ranked seventh in defense last season and this years squad is out to show that 2012 was no fluke.
Temple averaged the fifth-fewest passing yards (120.8) in the FBS last year, ahead of only Army, Navy, Air Force and New Mexico.
Matt Rhule, new head coach at Temple, has installed a no-huddle offense which he hopes will provide some balance to the teams play calling this season.
