Overview:

On Sunday, September 4th, at 6:30 P.M. the #10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be on the road to take on the Texas Longhorns.

“The Crowd” projects a final score of Notre Dame 34.0 – Texas 27.0 with an over/under of 61.0.  The Vegas Line has a final score of Notre Dame 31.8 – Texas 28.3 with an over/under of 60.0.

Prizing:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd-10th Place: $10 Starbucks gift card

2015-16 Statistics (127 total teams):

Last season Notre Dame finished with a (10-3) record and lost 44-28 to Ohio State in the 2016 BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl.  Texas was a disappointing (5-7) last season and was not eligible for a bowl appearance.

Passing offense: Notre Dame 258.8 YPG > Texas 145.9 YPG

Rushing offense: Texas 224.8 YPG > Notre Dame 207.6 YPG

Scoring offense: Notre Dame 34.2 PPG > Texas 26.4 PPG

Scoring defense: Notre Dame 24.1 PPG > Texas 30.3 PPG

Passing defense: Notre Dame 196.8 YPG > Texas 233.4 YPG

Rushing defense: Notre Dame 175.8 YPG > Texas 219.2 YPG

Turnover Margin: Texas +11 > Notre Dame -6

Summary:

Last season Notre Dame annihilated Texas 38-3 in South Bend but with turnover comes new opportunity.  Texas was so bad passing the ball last season that they essentially gave it up during the season and ran every play.  Look for Texas to run the ball and try to win the time of possession battle.  Texas hasn’t even named their starting quarterback for the game so that shows you they could be in trouble.  The only distinct advantage Texas has is their opportunistic defense which forced 25 turnovers.    The Texas defense should be much improved led by inside linebacker Malik Jefferson who was voted as a preseason All-American.

Notre Dame lost a lot of players from their defense which only managed 25 sacks in 13 games.  Their offense should be explosive with DeShone Kizer at quarterback and Tarean Folston at running back.  Notre Dame always boasts one of the best offensive lines in the country.  If Notre Dame gets a big lead early this could be a blowout because of the Longhorns inability to throw the ball.

**LISTEN HERE** to the latest edition of “The Berger Shop” podcast, sponsored by The Crowd’s Line.  This week’s features an in depth discussion about how the Bleacher Report has created a new digital sports empire.

Note:

To be eligible to enter a Crowd’s Line contest you must be over 18 years of age, a resident of the United States/Canada, and submit your score prediction on our prediction tool (blog widget). The winner will be selected according to The Crowd’s Line scoring methodology.  If more than one entrant has the same winning score the winner will be selected by random drawing.  Only one prize will be awarded per contest and that winner will receive their prize in 5-7 business days.