3 reasons Texas A&M football wins the day vs. Notre Dame: Aggies stop the run
It's no secret at this point that Riley Leonard is not exactly a pick-you-apart, highly accurate passing threat. That said, he's still highly regarded for a very clear reason.
Leonard's speed, explosiveness, and size give him an edge in the college game. New OC Mike Denbrock can utilize that well; he had a well-known dual-threat quarterback by the name of Jayden Daniels last year who he was able to accomplish a thing or two with last year.
That's not to mention the Irish's offensive backfield, one that includes former Aggie target Jeremiyah Love. ND will try to leverage his and Leonard's skills early and often to gash the Ags up front and take control of this matchup.
The problem is the fact that this is one of the toughest, most skilled defensive lines in the country. It's not just any team that can run on this squad, and with such an inexperienced offensive line, I doubt the Domers are one of them.
Look for Scourton, York, Stewart, Turner, Hicks, Regis, and all the rest of the Aggie front seven to make some big plays in the run game. The Irish will be spinning their wheels trying to get things going on the ground, and I think the Ags will be more than able to play them straight up.