Few coaches enter this season under more pressure and scrutiny than Brian Kelly. A four-win season at Notre Dame does not translate to job security.
The Fighting Irish probably need to at least flip last year’s 4-8 record for Kelly to extend his stay in South Bend.
South Point sports book director Chris Andrews said he expects Kelly to field a “fair” team that is bowl eligible in 2017.
“I have lost some confidence in Kelly,” Andrews said. “I think he’s got to get to eight wins, but even that might not do it at Notre Dame.”
Andrews opened lines for Week 1 on May 25. (https://vsin.com/south-point-opens-college-football-lines-for-week-1/) Four days later, he opened numbers on 66 of the college football season’s marquee games (https://vsin.com/alabama-auburn-highlights-college-football-opening-lines/), and the menu was expanded to 99 games with the addition of 33 on Thursday afternoon.
Notre Dame opened as a 1-point home underdog against Georgia on Sept. 9. It figures to be a key game in determining Kelly’s fate and the direction of the Irish’s season.
The Irish went 2-4 at home last season with losses to Michigan State, Duke, Stanford and Virginia Tech.
The South Point opened regular-season win totals on 130 teams on June 2 (https://vsin.com/south-point-opens-college-football-season-win-totals/). Notre Dame’s win total was posted at 7½.
The South Point’s additional opening lines (home team in CAPS):
Saturday, Sept. 9
BRIGHAM YOUNG 7 Utah
Georgia 1 NOTRE DAME
Louisville 5 NORTH CAROLINA
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA 6.5 Stanford
Saturday, Sept. 16
FLORIDA STATE 8 Miami
Saturday, Sept. 23
Florida 2 KENTUCKY
Penn State 10 IOWA
OKLAHOMA STATE 6.5 Texas Christian
Thursday, Sept. 28
Texas 3 IOWA STATE
Saturday, Sept. 30
Clemson 3 VIRGINIA TECH
Georgia 1 TENNESSEE
Saturday, Oct. 7
Louisiana State 3 FLORIDA
TEXAS 5 Kansas State
Saturday, Oct. 14
KANSAS STATE 1 Texas Christian
STANFORD 11.5 Oregon
FLORIDA 4 Texas A&M
Thursday, Oct. 19
HOUSTON 6.5 Memphis
Saturday, Oct. 21
ALABAMA 21 Tennessee
Oklahoma 9 KANSAS STATE
NORTHWESTERN 4 Iowa
Saturday, Oct. 28
WASHINGTON 15 Ucla
Friday, Nov. 3
TULSA 4 Memphis
Saturday, Nov. 4
Auburn 3 TEXAS A&M
NEBRASKA 1 Northwestern
Saturday, Nov. 11
Southern California 6 COLORADO
MINNESOTA 4 Nebraska
UTAH Pick Washington State
Saturday, Nov. 18
WISCONSIN 10 Michigan
NOTRE DAME 12 Navy
WEST VIRGINIA Pick Texas
Friday, Nov. 24
TOLEDO 3.5 Western Michigan
Miami 5 PITTSBURGH
Saturday, Nov. 25
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 3.5 North Carolina
