My heart is saying the Horns somehow pull out a stunning 1 or 2 point upset - in which case I promised to burn a sofa in my backyard.... But my head is telling me NO... be real, a minimum 7-10 point loss
Notre Dame is always over-ranked and their starting QB has started one game. We either win this or lose in a similar fashion to the blowu or UCLA games last season.
Spread as of Saturday was 12.5 looks like it is trending in our favor... http://www.burntorangenation.com/2015/4/28/8507681/texas-is-a-major-underdog-vs-notre-dame
I think the media is sobering up a little and remembering how they have over-rated ND going into seasons for a long time. Also some media may factor in the pressure is on the Irish and a hungry and fired up Texas team is coming in with nothing to lose.
If I had more faith in our QB and the O in general, I would say we leave with a close win. But right now, I think it is a close loss.
Both will be much better than last season. Even with the crappy o-line and spotty QB play, we should have beaten blowu and UCLA. That would have put us at a respectable 8 and 5. We were in the Baylor game for the first two quarters. The worst game, was game two, against BYU. Many would say the Arky game, but their lines are huge and it was just a horrible match-up for us. You will see a much different offense this season. I think the defense will be good as well, but they might get burned early with some alignment problems.
Look at last year's ND stat placement in FBS and they were not much better than Texas while playing a far weaker schedule. Even if all of those guys came back, they are not better than Texas. Texas by 1.
Here's a note: Irish QB, junior Malik Zaire, played a total of 68 snaps last season. Horns QB, junior Tyrone Swoopes, started 12 games last season. Yeah, I know..but... With room to improve, he's said to be the first one in, and last one out. Practice, training. Whatever. All off-season and through camp. I say he's ready. - As I've read, ND's defense is missing some key players due to injury or transfer. To go with a relatively inexperienced QB. - Texas should be improved by virtue of a total change in mindset, team synergy and a stellar Aug camp. synergy: According to Strong, the incoming class has been embraced by the upper classmen, to the point the upper classmen are acting as coaches and mentors to the new players. It's an all-inclusive squad. Competition putting the best players on the field. Talent is moving to positions of need and where talent is best served. Something like 24 freshmen and redshirt freshmen are on the depth chart. It's about accountability, earning your spot, pulling for the next guy. And a growing intensity for the game. I say they'll be ready. The players do seem to exude a manner reminiscent of Coach Royal's comments before the Navy game in the Cotton Bowl Jan 1, 1964... We're ready!
It's not ND's QB situation that will make or break this game, and everyone spouting off Zaire's numbers (or lack thereof) is pissing into the wind. It's entirely on our offense, after the "59 yards in a cloud of abortion" Texas Bowl, and whether or not we can improve about 800 percent just to compete with ND, let alone beat them soundly. ND is no slouch on defense. Arkansas was probably the best D we played last year, and ND plays remarkably similar to them against the run. Johnathan Gray has had one game in his entire career in which he earned his recruiting ranking, and the major reason for that was OU's DL and LB injuries going into the 2013 game. Gray, once again, has tweaked minor summer noncontact injuries heading into the season. No one should trust him to hang with ND the way we would have trusted Charles or Benson or Ricky. Then there's the OL. New attitudes aside, there shouldn't be a ton of overconfidence for a unit starting 2 true freshmen, except for maybe that ND lost their 2nd best DL man to injury. But Swoopes' decision making might be the most unknown culprit of all. Our "solid" wins against WVU and OK State were whitewashed as impressive wins against tough foes, but had some of the worst QB play we've seen in wins since Shea Morenz was playing. It all came to roost against TCU and Arkansas, so what makes this Swoopes so much easier to trust than that Swoopes? A summer of workouts?
The defense could really help out the offense, by giving them some short field situations and some turnovers. Texas has to win the turnover battle to have a good shot, you would think. Even if the offense isn't a juggernaut, they could help out by at least taking care of the football.
Lot's of factors, forces and keys to the game, but the UT Defense will be THE key factor IMO if UT has a chance to upset ND on Sat.