Breaking down Texas A&M football vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Why Aggies can emerge with a massive week 1 victory
It’s almost time, Texas A&M football fans. Only three days from now, it will finally be gameday—after a full offseason of waiting, Aggie football is almost back.
For the first time since 2017, though, the Ags will be facing off against a premier opponent to start off the season—no offense to Northwestern State, Texas State, Vanderbilt, Kent State, Sam Houston State, and New Mexico. Notre Dame, to put it lightly, is a cut above that class of opponent.
As I’ve mentioned in several columns this week, this is an extremely consequential game for both sides. Both teams come into this year ranked in preseason polls and with playoff aspirations, so whoever comes out of the weekend with a win will have the inside track on that front.
I think public perception, for the most part, is that the Irish are—or should be—favorites in this matchup. However, Vegas sees it differently—pretty much anywhere you look, the Ags are favored outright by about 2.5 to 3 points.
Is that a fair evaluation of these teams, or is it just savvy line-setting to snag the most bets? There will always be an element of the latter, obviously, but I do think those that believe Texas A&M football to be David to the Irish’s Goliath have it wrong.
This Aggie team is the seventh-most talented team in the nation to Notre Dame’s tenth, even after the departures of players like Walter Nolen and Evan Stewart. Though Jimbo Fisher and the previous staff did a poor job of utilizing and developing that talent, I think everyone expects this Elko staff to do far better in that arena.
So, that’s the 30,000-foot view. How do these teams stack up in specific matchups? What are the biggest questions for each? Let’s take a look.