The College Football people are capitalizing on a Sunday since the NFL doesn’t start until next weekend. This will be a night game and is likely to draw a lot of interest in wagering and viewership.
So far this week, I am currently 9-6 on the young season as I went 4-1 on Thursday, 2-3 for Friday and finished with 3-2 on Saturday. This is the only game of the day with another blockbuster being played tomorrow.
My Play
Notre Dame @ Texas
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, September 4, 2016
Where: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
Notre Dame has thoughts of a national championship with two quarterbacks capable of leading them. Malik Zaire was up to the task early last season before being succumbed by an ankle injury which gave way to DeShone Kizer finishing the season. The Longhorns will rely on senior Tyrone Swoopes as one of their leaders with freshman Shane Buechele battling him for the start. Texas hasn’t announced that decision yet.
Zaire’s lone full game last season was the opener at home against Texas, during which he completed 19-of-22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-3 thrashing. Kizer ended up with 21 passing TDs and 10 rushing scores in a breakout campaign and both quarterbacks are expected to go in Week 1, though the team has yet to decide which will take the first snap
The Longhorns look like an improved team after closing the 2015 campaign with a win at Baylor and bringing in another top recruiting class. Swoopes got the start last season at Notre Dame and went 7-of-22 for 93 yards as the Longhorns were outgained 527-163.
What Might Matter
Texas has won 15 home openers in a row while Notre Dame has lost CB Devin Butler to battery charges and CB Ashton White, RB Dexter Williams, WR Kevin Stepherson and LB Te’von Coney are all on the depth chart and are expected to play while awaiting word on a possible school-imposed suspension related to an arrest last month.
Placing the Money
This game has all the earmarkings of a very good game from start to finish. Currently, Notre Dame is a -3.5 favorite on the road. I find that a bit too large as the Texas Longhorns are a resurging team in 2016. If I had to guess a score I would go with Notre Dame winning 27-24. Therefore, I bet Texas to cover (+3.5) for this game.
