OFD Reacts: Your Confidence Heading Into Today’s UNLV Game

Welcome back to OFD Reacts, where we asked — and you answered — a four pack of questions about the Notre Dame football team.

Before we get into the results, a reminder to check out DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

Let’s look backward, as painful as it was, and start with last week’s 16-14 loss to Stanford.

First, we asked: What injury do you think had the most impact on the final outcome?

You collectively weren’t hearing this, with the majority saying that any specific injury didn’t affect the outcome. But among those chosen, TaRiq Bracy was missed the most by you all, garnering 18 percent of the vote. The graduate cornerback was a participant in practice this week.

So, we countered, if injuries weren’t to blame, who was?

We almost reached majority on placing the blame on Offensive Coordinator Tommy Rees, although rookie head coach Marcus Freeman was a popular second choice. Five percent said the referees prevented the Irish from prevailing because of their lack of penalty calls against Stanford.

So with the ghosts of last weekend hopefully exorcised, let’s concentrate on today’s game. What do you believe will occur today?

Almost three-quarters of you expect the Irish to prevail, but do so within the 26 ¹⁄₂ point spread. (This was the pick of Brendan and myself in the most recent OFD podcast.)

There were 5 percent of you that are expecting maximum chaos, which would be a UNLV win in their first meeting against Notre Dame ever.

Finally, let’s not forget our baseline question: What is your confidence in the Notre Dame football program?

The number has rightfully plummeted from last week’s position. But my takeaway here is that more than 55 percent of you remain at least somewhat confident that the Irish under Marcus Freeman are heading in the right direction.