College Football ATS Picks - Temple at Notre Dame Preview

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish entered the 2016 season with high expectations and subsequently fell flat on their face. Coach Brian Kelly could be on the hot seat if this season isn’t markedly better.

Notre Dame is trying to shake off an embarrassing four-win campaign by starting strong in 2017. It will host the Temple Owls in the regular season opener for both teams. Temple won 10 games a year ago but lost some key players and will enter this showdown as heavy underdogs.

It wasn’t long ago that Notre Dame was a regular fixture in the national rankings, and it’s hoping the 2016 campaign was an unfortunate blip in a stretch of impressive seasons. The Fighting Irish needs to get off to an impressive start or else the rumblings will begin about Kelly’s status as the team’s coach.

Kickoff for this regular season Week 1 game is set for Saturday, September 2, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Notre Dame Stadium.

NCAA Football Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu

Temple +17.5
Notre Dame -17.5
Over/Under 54

Odds Analysis

Notre Dame is a heavy favorite despite last season’s struggles, and the bettors believe in a turnaround as 70 percent of the early money has come in on the Fighting Irish to cover. The scoring total seems pretty well-pegged, as a little but more action has taken the “over” but not by a lopsided amount.

The Fighting Irish is a big-time -1200 favorite on the moneyline. Not surprisingly, Temple is getting the majority of the action there, as an upset would pay off handsomely at +755.

Coaching Angle

Kelly has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons this offseason. He criticized last year’s quarterback, DeShone Kizer, for leaving early for the NFL, but Kizer seemed to make the right decision because he was drafted in the second round by the Cleveland Browns and has already been named the starter.

He needs to have a good season to get fans off his back.

Temple lost coach Matt Rhule after last year’s impressive season as he took the job at Baylor. Geoff Collins steps in with a lot to prove and big shoes to fill, as the Owls continued to improve as the years went along under Rhule.

Temple is not a traditionally powerful program and it will be interesting to see if Collins can keep them respectable or if regression will take its toll.

Matchup To Watch

Temple defensive line vs. Notre Dame offensive line -- The Owls were dominant defensively a season ago, allowing only 18.4 points per game. They were led by star edge-rusher Haason Reddick, who had a fantastic individual season with 65 tackles, 9.5 sacks, 22.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles.

He was a first-round draft pick by the Arizona Cardinals and Temple must replace him, but the unit should still be solid. Notre Dame will win easily if its line can control the Owls.

Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson will anchor the left side of the Notre Dame line, and if they play as well as advertised it will be a huge help to the Fighting Irish offense. Temple is a big underdog because it doesn’t seem to have enough firepower to stick with Notre Dame in this one, but winning the line of scrimmage would even things out in a hurry.

Free ATS Pick

Notre Dame is at a pivotal point in the program’s existence as it tries to remain among the college football’s elite. Kelly has had some nice moments in South Bend but 2016 was a disaster.

Kizer must be replaced and there are other issues, but the personnel here should outclass Temple, a team which played well last season but doesn’t have the same track record of success.

It’s too soon to know how Notre Dame’s season will go, but at least the opener should be a successful one. Take the Fighting Irish to win this one but the Owls should cover. This game won’t be as high-scoring as expected, so the the “under” on the total.

College Football Odds: Notre Dame 32, Temple 17

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