College Football is right around the corner with nearly 100 days remaining until the start of the 2023 season. Consequently, FanDuel has us covered with a plethora of College Football win total over/unders for teams across the country. Below we continue our College Football odds series with a Notre Dame Football over/under win total prediction, odds, and pick.

Here are the College Football Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

College Football Odds: Notre Dame Over/Under Odds

Over 8.5 wins: -120

Under 8.5 wins: -102

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Why Notre Dame Can Win 8.5 Games

Notre Dame finished with a 9-4 record last season despite their starting quarterback going down in Week 2. They picked up notable wins over North Carolina, BYU, Syracuse, and Clemson before taking down South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. While there was no shame in losing at Ohio State and USC, the Fighting Irish dropped stunners at home to both Marshall and Stanford. That said, Notre Dame returns 18 starters from their Gator Bowl win and thus stands a strong chance of building on last season and hitting the over on their win total.

Offensively, Notre Dame projects as a much-improved unit. The Fighting Irish lost acclaimed offensive coordinator Tommy Reese but promoted former tight ends coach Gerad Parker. Parker brings a ton of familiarity with head coach Marcus Freeman dating back to their time at Purdue and Cincinnati. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at West Virginia and gets a star at the helm with Sam Hartman. Hartman transferred to Notre Dame from Wake Forest this offseason. The graduate transfer ranks first in ACC history with 108 passing touchdowns and second with 12,967 passing yards. Hartman was the most valuable Power Five conference player over the last two years per PPF and graded second only to Bryce Young among quarterbacks last season. Hartman projects as the best Notre Dame quarterback since the Brady Quinn years and thus gives this Fighting Irish team seemingly limitless potential.

Looking at Notre Dame's schedule, there doesn't seem to be much of a margin for error. Three key matchups catch your eye right off the bat: home against Ohio State (+8.5); home against USC (-1); and away against Clemson. With only 12 regular season games on deck, the Fighting Irish can afford to drop all three of those marquee matches and still hit the over on 8.5 wins. However, last year's woes give backers a ton of concern about their ability to beat the teams they're supposed to beat. That said, the Fighting Irish did beat Clemson last season and kept things close against both Ohio State and USC – both of whom they get at home in 2023. Assuming Notre Dame can go at least 1-2 against those three heavyweights, the Fighting Irish should cruise to 9-10 wins and crush this over.

Why Notre Dame Can Not Win 8.5 Games

Notre Dame hit the under on wins last season thanks to pulling out just eight regular season wins. That was largely thanks to two brutal home losses to Marshall and Stanford. They did go 1-2 against Ohio State, USC, and Clemson last year. However, all three teams project to be similarly strong, or even better in 2023. Additionally, they lost arguably the greatest tight end in school history with Michael Mayer leaving for the NFL. While the addition of Sam Hartman elevates their offense on paper, he doesn't have much to work with on the outside. Notre Dame lacks a go-to receiver and their personal suggests a run-heavy offense.

Speaking of offense, the Fighting Irish suffered a major loss with the departure of offensive coordinator Tommy Reese. New OC Gerad Parker has two years of coordinator experience under his belt. However, his teams struggled mightily on that end. As West Virginia's OC from 2020-21, the Mountaineers ranked 83rd and 88th in total offense.

Notre Dame will likely enter as a Top 25 team in 2023 but by no means does that guarantee success. They ranked in the preseason top 10 last season before going 8-4 in the regular season.  In addition to losing Mayer, all-time sack leader Isaiah Foskey is gone to the NFL. Second-leading rusher Logan Diggs is gone as well via the transfer portal. With three projected top-10 teams on their schedule, all it takes is a single hiccup for Notre Dame to hit the under.

Final Notre Dame Over/Under Win Total Prediction & Pick

Expectations are sky-high for Notre Dame. Sam Hartman gives them a real quarterback in year two of the Marcus Freeman era. Their tough schedule leaves them little margin for error with a win total set at 8.5. However, I trust Hartman and their elite offensive line to be enough to crush this over.

Final Notre Dame Over/Under Win Total Prediction & Pick: Over 8.5 (-120)