Football Props Colts vs. the Irish – Head-to-Head
I bet you didn’t know that the good folks at BetUS Sportsbook have some great propositions on the table in which you bet a head-to-head matchup between a college football team and an NFL club, usually falling within the same geographic region. We will endeavor to take a look at as many of these as we can, and today that means we examine a “matchup” between the Indianapolis Colts and the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
Here are the odds as they are posted at BetUS:
BetUS Football Proposition Odds
Who Will Have the Most Regular Season Wins?
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS -4 wins +125
NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH +4 wins -165
Obviously if this were a straight-up proposition it would be a no-brainer, because we know that Indianapolis is fully capable of winning 13 games in the regular season, and there is a good chance that Notre Dame won’t even GET to a 13th game. But there is the handicap, in which the Colts are “laying” four wins to the Irish. That only makes this a nail-biter if you figure Notre Dame to have a season that is much improved from last year’s 3-9 mark.
Sports Illustrated, I suppose, thinks so, because in their latest issue, a “College Football Preview,” in which they rank all Division I teams from top to bottom, they have ND at #52, which would put them in a bowl game. In fact, they have them projected for the Sun Bowl. Athlon Sports, another annual, has them at #60.
I suppose that Charlie Weis is not going to make the same kind of mistake he did last year, when he so wanted to avoid appearing as if he was handing the quarterback job to prize recruit Jimmy Clausen that he manufactured a “quarterback competition,” limiting everybody’s snaps in practice and giving no one enough time to get indoctrinated. Clausen was going to be the QB anyway (otherwise why all the ballyhoo in recruiting and signing him), so what was the point?
Well, this year Clausen does indeed start with the first unit, and he is joined by five other returning starters. Two starters were lost on the offensive line, which allowed the most sacks in the country. In fact, this team ranked 119th in total offense, including a 115th in rushing, and there are no stars coming back at the skill positions. In other words, these guys could have a long way to go before they are able to score points with regularity. And the entire defensive front was lost.
The schedule at Notre Dame is usually challenging, and one can probably put meetings with Michigan, Purdue, North Carolina, Pitt, Boston College and USC in the loss column. The trip to Michigan State is not a “gimme,” and neither will be the game at Washington, which will be a grudge match for Tyrone Willingham. Will Stanford roll over? Will, Navy, now that they’ve broken their long losing streak against the Irish? Will Syracuse?
I think we are looking at five or six losses MINIMUM, and quite possibly seven or eight. that will put this team at 4-6 wins, and that means Indianapolis looks inviting. Remember, the Colts are a dependable crew; reasonable people can count on them to win at least ten games. What can people really count on from the 119th-rated offense?
We’re “laying” the four and taking a price with the Colts in this BetUS Sportsbook special prop.
JAY’S PLAY: INDIANAPOLIS -4 wins (+125)
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