After the blackjack tables of the Las Vegas strip used me as their personal ATM a few weeks back, I wandered over to the MGM Grand Sports Book in a sad attempt to convince myself that I may have some kind of mental edge over both the degenerate gamblers and the schmucks walking out of the David Copperfield show. I bet on two teams I love: the Notre Dame men’s basketball squad and the Chicago Bulls. I bet on one team I hate: the Miami Heat. Naturally, I lost all 3 (and I can only make myself feel better by blaming one on the referees).
Heading back to the main casino floor I stopped to take a quick look at the Vegas odds for the 2013 BCS National Championship winner. Not surprisingly, Alabama, LSU and USC looked down on the rest of the field from the top. I started scanning down to see where the Irish landed.
30/1? Nope, not there – must be even worse than I thought.
50/1? I still don’t see them. Wow, they didn’t even get that high of odds? People must really be concerned about this QB situation.
75/1? Wait, where are they? Did they forget to add them to the list? Has Tommy Rees already been named starter?
I started back at the top and it didn’t take long to find the blue and gold. 18/1 – the 7th best odds of any team in the country. Yes, you read that right: Vegas is giving Notre Dame the 7th best odds of any team to win the 2013 BCS National Championship!
Quick reminder: Odds are different depending on where you look. These happened to be the current odds at the MGM Grand when I was there. Our very own NDtex saw the Irish at 20/1 at Harrah’s and 25/1 the next day at the Wynn. They currently are sitting at 25/1 on Bovada, putting them at the same odds as Michigan. Also, remember that the odds do not depend on what the odds makers think the actual probability of Notre Dame winning the National Championship are but rather reflect the money being bet on the team.
As an aside, I am generally a realistic but overall optimistic Notre Dame fan. Back when Charlie Weis was still an offensive savant and a recruiting guru, I told my friends with 100% seriousness that, “we may have the best team to EVER play college football my senior year at Notre Dame.” Yeah, that came back to bite me in the ass – but we learn from our mistakes. So sure, I may be optimistic, but I find it hard to imagine that even the biggest Domer-homer thinks the Irish are a top 10 team right now. I’m not saying that this team doesn’t have the potential because with a stout defensive front 7, a powerful offensive line and a solid running attack I do think this team will turn some heads – I’m just saying that they have a lot to prove before top 10 numbers are reasonable especially when considering away games at Oklahoma and USC.
I would love to know who is putting that money on the Irish to drive the line to this point after they opened at 22/1. Are you putting your hard earned money on ND at 18/1? What odds would it take for you to put $100 on the line?
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Grantland-X
The Vegas Odds attest to our strength on both the offensive and defensive lines. If you can win the battles in the trenches, you tend to be in good shape.
They probably have also read this fantastic article detailing why Tommy Rees will be the man next year: http://www.herloyalsons.com/blog/2012/03/26/debate-this-quarterback-edition/
starkruzr
We’re a top-25 team, talent-wise. We’re going to get creamed in the rankings this year because of our insane schedule, and losses always make you plummet no matter how good your opponents are. But talent-wise, sure, we’re top-25.
J D
I am so sick of “talent wise” talks. We might as well talk about unicorns, jellybeans, and Sasquatch. Is the “talent wise” argument, something to save face? Is it something that we do to justify our poor record? If we have Top 25 talent, then we wouldn’t be losing the games to USF, Michigan, FSU, because we have superior talent, right? Sure, “talent wise” we have great players. How else can you explain all of the ND players, playing in the NFL. Well, then it has to be coaching? The fact of the matter is simple, we win and the rankings, the recruits, the beeyotches, all take care of themselves.
I am off my soapbox.
AKMatt
I was in Vegas during the Eagles-Patriots Superbowl back in 2005. I remember seeing the White Sox as 80/1 to win the World Series. I thought, “Hey, I should bet $100 on that… no, that would be dumb.”