mostly due to irish getting the home opener nod, if neutral or texas would be lower and be closer to the much more reasonable 7 pt line.
heard may be a dark horse down in Austin as swoops left bad taste '14. some competition for start on campus. notre lame always looks so dimunitive in stature and horns will outweigh 'em on the line, but texas got torched (burnt orange) LY w/ strong in command.
strong is no huckleberry though and runs a tough program.
bottom line: texas still has some figuring out to do, esp. in skilled position and will face a tough road opener on irish turf. irish look poised to make early bid, but non-con schedule (independ) also has a lot of cake. shamrock took big bite here expecting early notoriety; but may not come easy. expect horns to bring strong run game behind beefy line and grind w/ a possible two QB system in place by fall. weather on the bend will be respite for orange, as Austin heat no joke. personally think the irish are always overrated, and have no reason to think different. healthy horn on hunt will be a tough cigar to snuff out, imo.
OTOH, Tex has looked more like chopped liver than prime rib. GL