Texas A&M football vs. Notre Dame full preseason preview: Why Aggies can start Mike Elko era off with a bang
We are just under six weeks away from Texas A&M football finally putting toe to leather in the first game of the Mike Elko era. There is excitement, anticipation, and just a touch of anxiety around College Station for the day to finally be here.
Well, maybe more than just a little bit of anxiety. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know all about the fact that the week 1 matchup for the Aggies is a far cry in terms of quality from anything that the Maroon and White had in the Jimbo Fisher era; instead of Northwestern State, Vanderbilt, Kent State, or Sam Houston, the Ags will be taking on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
That’s one way to get eyes on your program early on in the season! And eyes there will be aplenty—College Gameday has made College Station its week one destination, bringing with it all the attendant pomp and circumstance you might expect.
Of course, this comes with the added pressure to perform in the very first game, when there are still yet some kinks to be worked out with the team. This is especially the case when undergoing the kinds of changes that this Texas A&M football team has from last year to this year.
The good news is that Notre Dame is undergoing their fair share of changes as well. A new quarterback and offensive system means the Irish have just as many questions on that side of the ball as the Aggies do. And while A&M may be instilling a new defensive system, it’s one that several members of the team have had experience in.
The Irish will come in as a preseason top-10 team, while the Aggies will be fringe top-25 at best. Even so, though, the early indications are that this one will be a pick-em. This is a huge opportunity for A&M to announce themselves in the Elko era. Can they take advantage? Let’s dive in.