New Mexico Lobos vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Two weeks after kicking off the season with a win in Louisville, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish return to action with their home opener against New Mexico. The Lobos will be without head coach Bob Davie as he continues to recover from a health scare that sent him to hospital after New Mexico’s first game of the season.

New Mexico Lobos vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Matchup Report)
Date/Time: September 14, 2:30 p.m. ET
TV Coverage: NBC
Sportsbook Odds: Notre Dame -34.5 | O/U 63.0 (Line History)

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

You don’t often see the Irish favored in this high a range. In fact, the -34.5 opener marked just the fourth time Notre Dame has been favored by more than 30 points since 2005. Notre Dame is 0-3 ATS in those three previous contests, by the way. Still, early bettors liked the Irish, moving the line up to -37.

New Mexico News & Notes

Lobos head coach Bob Davie won’t be on the sideline for this one. The former Notre Dame coach has already ruled out a return to South Bend due to health concerns, having been rushed to hospital following New Mexico’s 39-31 win over Sam Houston State in Week 1. Run game coordinator Saga Tuitele will serve as acting head coach instead.

Like Notre Dame, New Mexico is coming off a bye week, giving the Lobos some time to tune up a pass defense that allowed 443 yards in the opener. The Lobos will also look to play keepaway from the Irish offense by handing the ball off to senior back Ahmari Davis, who collected 165 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in Week 1.

Notre Dame News & Notes

It’s only been one game, but the heart of the Irish defense seems significantly weaker following the graduation of linebackers Drue Tranquill and Te’von Coney. Without the duo that accounted for more than 600 tackles over the past four years, Notre Dame was gashed for 249 rushing yards in its Sportsbook-week 35-17 victory at Louisville. On the bright side, Notre Dame figured things out as the game went along, holding the Cardinals to just three points over the final three quarters.

Offensively, the Irish are down three projected starters due to injury, but the backups have held up well so far. Senior running back Tony Jones Jr. ran for 110 yards and a touchdown against Louisville in place of Jafar Armstrong (groin), while redshirt freshman receiver Tommy Tremble caught a 26-yard touchdown pass.

Betting Pick

Whether Notre Dame covers this number probably depends on whether the Irish want to, and I’m not sure they’ll be that motivated. Head coach Brian Kelly will be looking for better out of his team than what it showed against Louisville, but I also expect him to take his foot off the gas in the second half and start looking ahead to a huge game vs Georgia on deck.

There’s not much honor in beating up an overmatched opponent whose coach is too sick to be on the sideline, and New Mexico could enjoy some moderate success moving the ball on the ground to shorten the game as well. Plug your nose if you have to, but if I’m betting this game, I’m taking the points with New Mexico.