Texas A&M football preseason previews: Why A&M upsets ND in week one showdown

There’s a lot riding on week one for both Texas A&M football and Notre Dame. Here’s why the Aggies can send the Irish packing.
Notre Dame wide receiver Micah Gilbert (14) Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.
Notre Dame wide receiver Micah Gilbert (14) Saturday, April 20, 2024, at the annual Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. / MANDATORY CREDIT GREG SWIERCZ / USA
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Three stats to watch for Texas A&M football vs. Notre Dame

Sack Rate

The Irish usually have a great line, but Joe Alt isn’t walking through that door. The Aggies were one of the nation’s best in sack rate last year, and I’m not sure there will be much slippage at all. Nic Scourton, David Hicks, Shemar Turner, and the rest will all be looking to get theirs in the first contest of the year. This was one of the few statistical advantages that the Aggies had last year over the Irish, who graded out much better in nearly every metric.

Defensive Points per Opportunity

Another area where the Aggies were elite last year—and where they’ll have to continue their stellar play—is stopping opponents from scoring. No duh, right? But truly, the Aggies did a great job in disallowing opponents from converting on their drives last year. An opportunity is defined as a drive that gets a first down within the opponent’s 40 yard line—think of it as an “extended red zone” stat to measure how good teams are at stymying promising drives from their opponents. The Aggies only allowed 2.76 PPO last year, best in the SEC.

3rd Down Conversion Margin

Again, a little bit of a “no duh” here, but to win a game, you have to convert third downs at a much higher rate than your opponent. If you do that, you’re in business—and the disparity between the Aggies and their foes in this respect was pretty massive for most of the year. It really petered out due to the last two games, but the Aggies were a force to be feared on third downs last year. Getting the Irish off the field will be key for A&M.