Position group matchups breakdown: Should Texas A&M football fear ND's run game?

Let's take a look at how things stack up in specific facets of the game for Texas A&M football versus Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love (12) at the 90th Sun Bowl game against Oregon State in El Paso, Texas Friday, Dec. 29, 2023.
Notre Dame's Jeremiyah Love (12) at the 90th Sun Bowl game against Oregon State in El Paso, Texas Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. | GABY VELASQUEZ/ EL PASO TIMES / USA TODAY NETWORK
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Texas A&M football pass protection vs. Notre Dame pass rush

For as good of a defense as Notre Dame had last year, they weren't exactly prolific at sacking the quarterback. They notched only 2.39 sacks per game, good for 44th in the nation.

Off of that defense, the Irish lost four of their top five pass-rushers. For all the publicity that Mills and Cross III get, they finished last year with 2.5 and 2 sacks, respectively, good for 6th and 7th on the team. Jordan Botelho, who notched 4 sacks, also returns.

Weigman is one of the best quarterbacks in the country at eluding pressure, as has been well-covered on this site. So even when teams were pressuring him all game, the actual sack rate allowed by the Aggies was vanishingly small when compared to the pressure rate.

So when you get a team that doesn't generate all that much pressure going against a team that doesn't allow pressure to turn into sacks, it feels like the advantage is clear. I don't think this will be a sit-back-and-pick-them-apart situation for Weigman, but I'm not sure he'll be under fire consistently, either.

Advantage score: Aggies by 2

Schedule

Schedule