BCS Betting - What Now for Notre
Dame?
The Brady Quinn Era is over. But the Jimmy Clausen
Era will have to wait.
Fans of the Notre
Dame Fighting Irish can be forgiven if they’re not quite as optimistic
as usual about their football team’s chances
this year. The Irish have a Quinn-sized void
at quarterback, and concerns over his eventual
replacement have knocked the 2007 Sugar Bowl
participants for a loop on the futures market.
Notre Dame is priced at +3000 to win the 2008
BCS National Championship, behind the likes of
Florida State (+2000) and Rutgers (+2200).
The biggest concern
right now is the health of Clausen. He’s the top recruit from Notre
Dame’s 2007 class – and the top recruit
across the nation, according to Rivals.com. Clausen’s
strong arm and quick release have scouts invoking
the name of Joe Namath. However, that arm underwent
a surgical procedure earlier this month.
Reports out of South Bend have been guarded,
but it is believed Clausen had an operation on
his elbow to deal with bone spurs that caused
him discomfort during his senior year at Oaks
Christian in California.
Clausen’s availability for the start of
the 2007 season is unknown at press time. That
leaves the Irish QB situation in flux; there
are two other men competing with Clausen for
the starting job, and neither jumps off the page
like “The Kid with the Golden Arm.”
Redshirt freshman Demetrius Jones and junior
Evan Sharpley are the candidates in question.
Sharpley knows the system, but Jones is the better
athlete. Even if Clausen proves healthy, it would
be no surprise to see Sharpley and/or Jones start
the first few games while the blue-chipper is
eased into the program.
The chaos at quarterback
doesn’t bode
well for Irish fans in 2007, but handicappers
could benefit greatly. Last year’s club
was never as good as the hype surrounding Quinn
and the gang; they went 10-3 straight up and
5-7 against the spread. Their disappointing level
of play, culminating in a 41-14 Sugar Bowl blowout
at the hands of the LSU Tigers, left a bad taste
in the mouth of many high-profile football analysts.
That ill will should carry over into a Quinn-less
2007 campaign.
Meanwhile, coach Charlie
Weis has acknowledged that the Irish relied
too much on Quinn over the past two seasons. “We are going to
have to learn how to play complementary football,” Weis
told reporters, “and that means the offense,
defense and special teams are going to have to
learn better how to play off each other to win
games.” A shift in emphasis to the running
game is widely expected, with fullback Asaph
Schwapp back from injury to open holes for tailback
Travis Thomas.
The Irish defense
remains a sore spot, and there are too many
fresh faces at QB and wide receiver to consider
Notre Dame a true BCS contender. But at least
the Irish won’t be coated
in chalk this year.
With NCAA football just a couple months away,
the BetUS sportsbook already has tons of college
football Futures betting available for those
of us who can't wait. Bet on the Heisman winner,
Conference and Divisional winners and, of course,
the 2008 BCS National Championship winner. Bet
NCAA Football Futures in our sportsbook today
in the Future / props section!
Posted on 6/28/2007 7:08:53 PM
College Football Odds - What Now for Notre Dame
By Cliff Vicious
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