2022 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Futures Odds, Picks and Preview: National Championship, Win Total and Season Predictions

Henry John

Last Updated: July 15, 2022 3:21 AM EDT • 3 min 59 sec read. Twitter link Google News Link

Head coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish looks on before the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 1. Photo by Norm Hall / Getty Images via AFP

In a season where Notre Dame will have a new head coach and yet another new quarterback, the Irish will be banking on their elite offensive line and strong defense to elevate them into the national championship hunt. Here is our Notre Dame futures odds, picks, and preview.

As conference realignment continues to drastically alter the college football landscape, one of the biggest dominoes still to fall is a decision from Notre Dame. Playing as an FBS independent has long been a core pillar of the Notre Dame football program. However, as the trend towards super conferences and billion-dollar TV contracts continues, the Fighting Irish may ultimately have no choice but to align.

Despite only losing one regular-season game a year ago, Notre Dame fell short of the College Football Playoff. While the fact that their loss came to four-seed Cincinnati was key, the Irish's lack of conference affiliation also worked against them.

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Following a narrow loss in the Fiesta Bowl, head coach Brian Kelly departed in the offseason for LSU. Taking over the program is Marcus Freeman. Can the first-year head coach lead the Irish to the Playoff in his very first season at the helm?

Below, we preview the 2022 college football season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a look at their team futures odds and top picks (odds via DraftKings Sportsbook, BetMGM, FanDuel Sportsbook).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish's 2022 Futures Odds

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish 2022 Picks

To win CFP National Championship (+6000 via FanDuel)Over 8.5 regular-season wins (-130 via DraftKings)To win more regular-season games than Cincinnati (+140 via DraftKings)

Notre Dame to win National Championship (+6000)

For Notre Dame to even have a chance at making the College Football Playoff let alone winning the national title, nothing short of a one-loss season is acceptable. Although the Irish's schedule is far from a cakewalk, Freeman's squad does have some of the key ingredients needed for a successful 2022 season.

Notre Dame's offensive line was one of the best in the country a year ago. The unit is poised to be arguably the team's greatest strength yet again in 2022.

Sturdy play up front will be even more critical this season as the Fighting Irish make yet another quarterback transition. Dual-threat option Tyler Buchner will compete with Drew Pyne for the starting job. Both QBs might very well see reps this season for third-year OC Tommy Rees.

Whichever quarterback wins the job will desperately need another pass-catcher to step up alongside tight end Michael Mayer. Failure for this to occur will likely result in Notre Dame being a very run-heavy offense this season.

With so many uncertainties on offense, the Irish's defense will need to be a linchpin this season. New DC Al Golden will have a dynamic front seven led by end Isaiah Foskey and linebacker Jack Kiser. If Notre Dame's secondary can improve over previous seasons while absorbing the loss of safety Kyle Hamilton to the NFL, this could be one of the nation's best defenses.

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Notre Dame Over 8.5 regular-season wins (-130)

The college football betting market is juiced to the Over on 8.5 wins for Notre Dame in 2022. Even with the challenges facing the Irish on offense, a nine-win season is certainly doable. In fact, a final record of 9-3 or better seems much more likely for the Irish than 8-4 or worse based on their schedule.

Unfortunately, Freeman will likely lose his first regular-season game as Notre Dame head coach considering that it comes on the road against Ohio State. After that tough opener, however, there are really only three other games that the Irish will truly be in danger the rest of the way.

The first of that trio is a trip west to play BYU. Notre Dame will have the benefit of it not being a true road game. Instead of playing in Provo, the Irish will face the Cougars at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The other two tricky games for the Irish both come in the last month of the season. This too could be a huge blessing as more continuity should be established at the quarterback position later in the year. Notre Dame will host Clemson and finish out the season at USC.

An opening loss at Ohio State will hardly derail an Over bet on Notre Dame's win total. If the Irish merely win one of the three other games discussed above, they will reach the nine wins needed.

Notre Dame to win more games than Cincinnati (+140)

Among the various team head-to-head win total props available at DraftKings is Notre Dame matched up against Cincinnati. There's a lot to love when it comes to betting Notre Dame Over 8.5 wins this season.

Let's suppose that the Irish suffer losses at Ohio State, in Las Vegas to BYU, and on the road at USC, even if that scenario plays out, Notre Dame would still finish with nine wins, which matches Cincinnati's current win total at DraftKings.

Of course, the Irish have the potential to win 10 or even 11 games in 2022. Although Cincinnati is again favored to win the American Athletic Conference, this is hardly the same caliber of team that made history a year ago. Notre Dame has a great chance to at least match the Bearcats in wins this season.

Luke Fickell and his staff will have the challenge of working in a new quarterback of their own this season following Desmond Ridder's departure to the NFL. Top rusher Jerome Ford is gone, and the vaunted UC defense lost a half-dozen starters as well. While the Bearcats will be stingy defensively again this season, there will undoubtedly be a drop-off.

Breaking down Cincinnati's schedule, three games stand out in particular as potential losses. The Bearcats will open the season in SEC country against Arkansas. They also have back-to-back road games against AAC hopefuls SMU and UCF. Add potential trap games in conference against East Carolina and Tulane and reaching 10 victories will hardly be a walk in the park.

Where to Bet on Notre Dame Fighting Irish Futures

Here are our top-rated sportsbooks:

FanDuel Sportsbook Caesars Sportsbook DraftKings Sportsbook PointsBet BetMGM

SEE ALSO: All picks, odds, and sports betting news. Be sure to check out SportsbookReview.com’s community forums and betting tools.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish futures picks made on 7/14/2022 at 4:37 p.m. ET

Written By:
Henry John

Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball, and NASCAR. He counts NFL, WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.