The Notre Dame Fighting Irish ended last season with a thud, losing four of their last five games and going 1-5 against the spread over their last six contests. The Irish and their financial backers are hoping they can put that behind them and begin this season anew when they host the Texas Longhorns Saturday night in South Bend.
Point spread: The Fighting Irish opened as nine-point favorites, according to sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark (see line updates and matchup report)
College football pick, via Odds Shark's computer: 25.7-20.3 Fighting Irish
Why the Longhorns can cover the spread
Texas only returns 12 starters this year from a team that went 6-7 with a bad bowl loss last season, but this is just part of the process in which new head coach Charlie Strong finds the players for his system and puts them into place.