Betting analyst gives strong Notre Dame bet to make

Notre Dame should have its best team yet under Marcus Freeman in 2024 after winning 10 games a season ago.

ESPN gambling analyst Joe Fortenbaugh expects the Fighting Irish to make the College Football Playoff this year and recently mentioned that Notre Dame making the CFP is one of his favorite bets ahead of the start of the college football season.

Notre Dame is currently -170 to reach the CFP, according to FanDuel.

“Notre Dame to make the playoff, you’re laying juice on that. But you can always get out of it in some regard if you don’t like the way it goes with A&M,” Fortenbaugh said on the Always College Football podcast. “But if they get past A&M, the schedule sets up so nicely.”

Notre Dame had a couple of important additions to its offense this offseason in Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard and LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock.

Leonard was 13-7 as a starter across two seasons at Duke, while making plays with both his arm and legs. Denbrock orchestrated the top offense in the country last season at LSU.

“With [Mike] Denbrock coming over from LSU as the offensive coordinator, and Riley Leonard transferring in at quarterback, it feels like they’re set up really nicely,” Fortenbaugh said. “They should be a favorite in all 12. The one where they’re not going to be double digits, outside of A&M, is the USC game. But they’re probably still laying 6 on the road.”

Notre Dame is a 2.5-point underdog heading into the Texas A&M game, but the Fighting Irish have only two ranked opponents the rest of the way in No. 10 Florida State at home and No. 23 USC on the road.

If Notre Dame stays healthy, Fortenbaugh fully expects the Fighting Irish to be in the playoff this year.

“Assuming there’s not some crazy variance with injuries or one-score games, Notre Dame’s going to be there in that final 12,” he said.

Marcus Freeman made the starting quarterback decision official on Saturday, naming Riley Leonard the guy who will try to lead the Fighting Irish to the playoff.

When asked if Leonard would be the starter, Freeman didn’t make a grand announcement with any theatrics or fanfare.

He kept it simple. Freeman said Leonard has been working with the starters, and that seals his status as QB1 when the season begins in two weeks.

Leonard was the key piece of Notre Dame’s transfer portal class this year. During his time at Duke, he threw for nearly 4,500 yards, including 2,967 yards and 20 touchdowns in his lone full season in 2022. His 2023 campaign was marred by injuries, including a high-ankle sprain he suffered – ironically – against Notre Dame.