Noah Cahill
Notre Dame played a B game against Miami. Both lines were outplayed in the trenches. The team lost the turnover battle and the middle eight. The play call was too conservative on both sides of the ball. At their best, this Irish team is talented enough to win this game comfortably. Their biggest question mark entering the season, whether CJ Carr was the right choice, was all but answered. The first-time starter met the moment in a tough environment against a top-10 team. The rest of his team and coaching staff needed to do more. Love and Price need more touches. The line needs to generate more pressure, both through the four-man rush and with more frequent blitzes. The secondary needs to take the ball away. There are reasons to believe these things will happen.
Despite being relatively untested in their 2-0 start, Texas A&M comes in with momentum to start the season. Bolstered by the transfer portal, the Aggie wide receiver corps and second-year starter Marcel Reed present a far greater offensive threat than last season. They will look to continue doing what they’ve done in games one and two with the ball in their hands. On defense, they will need to slow down the run game, which proved to be a struggle in their opener, allowing a 203-yard output to the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Notre Dame’s strengths pair well against the Aggies’. If they play to their full potential, they should win this top-20 matchup comfortably.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 31, Texas A&M: 17
Chris Dailey
Fortune favors the bold. The Irish will need to take risks to shut down this explosive Aggies attack. Led by shifty quarterback Marcel Reed, Texas A&M will rely on its ground game rather than testing the highly touted Irish secondary. With that in mind, defensive coordinator Chris Ash has to find a way to apply more pressure to the box. On the other side of the ball, there is no question that Jeremiyah Love needs to receive more touches of the rock. A legitimate Heisman candidate should not be given the ball only 10 times, as he was in the season opener against Miami. His right-hand man, Jadarian Price, only received six, all on one drive in the second quarter. Head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff must find ways to unleash their playmakers and disrupt the Aggies’ biggest threats. If Freeman proved anything last season, it is that adjustments are his bread and butter. Expect the Irish to come out with a renewed edge, knowing they can’t take any snap for granted. Let’s also not forget that Notre Dame only lost by three to a ranked team on the road. It will be close, but they'll win by a touchdown at home.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 24, Texas A&M: 17
Ben Hicks
Notre Dame is just 1-2 in home openers under head coach Marcus Freeman, with losses to Marshall and Northern Illinois and the lone win coming against the FCS school Tennessee State. Texas A&M’s physicality up front and skill on the outside will present a completely different challenge, but there is reason to believe the Irish can bounce back from the week one defeat. Notre Dame is 7-1 following losses during Freeman’s tenure, and there were plenty of bright spots to build upon from the Miami loss.
While Saturday’s showdown with Texas A&M should provide more offense than last year’s meeting in College Station, the Irish can still incorporate some of the same game plan. That starts with establishing the run — Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for 22 carries, 135 yards and two touchdowns a year ago against an Aggie defensive front that produced a first and second-round NFL draft pick. Notre Dame’s own defensive front will need to be better than it was two weeks ago in Miami Gardens, but with Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed laboring from an injury, Chris Ash’s unit can dial in on controlling the passing attack. I see this game developing very similarly to last year’s, meaning that if Notre Dame can win the turnover battle and outduel Texas A&M on special teams, they will be well on their way to a crucial top-20 home victory.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 31, Texas A&M: 21
Tyler Reidy
As far as the matchup goes, I’m asking two questions for Saturday night. First, what kind of a start can Notre Dame’s offense get out to? In Miami, it took a while for CJ Carr and company to find a rhythm, allowing the Hurricanes to control the game. However, that same Irish offense left us with quite the final impression, tallying 17 points in the fourth quarter. If Notre Dame comes out on Saturday and continues that performance from the opening kickoff, I can see them leading from wire to wire, especially against an Aggie defense that hasn’t looked great against low-level opponents.
I also wonder the extent to which Notre Dame’s defense can dictate the game. Against Miami, we didn’t see that at all from the Irish, who played plenty of soft zone coverage and hardly dirtied the uniform of quarterback Carson Beck. Notre Dame Stadium will be loud come Saturday, playing to the defense’s advantage, but Texas A&M has the playmakers across the board to make the Irish pay for another lackluster performance.
Ultimately, I believe Notre Dame’s sense of urgency will be the difference maker in this game. We saw what happened when the Irish lost an early one last year; they didn’t lose again for more than four months. In a game similar to last year’s against Louisville, Notre Dame takes command early and hangs on down the stretch.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 30, Texas A&M: 24
Claire Watson
Texas A&M brings in more experience to the Irish home opener than they did a season ago, but so does Notre Dame. While many people are questioning the Irish based on the loss against Miami, head coach Marcus Freeman looked to settle the doubts in his post-game press conference.
“As we evaluate that game, we did not think we had a personnel problem. There were plays in that game where Notre Dame beat Notre Dame. That’s unacceptable,” Freeman said.
Recognizing these mistakes from the first game and dialing in during practices is what is going to make the Irish football team stronger as a whole and a better competitor going forward this season. That starts on Saturday. The biggest questions remain with the offensive line. Still a relatively young group with constantly changing personnel, communication issues arose in a hostile environment. These little things had a big impact, especially in the rushing attack. However, having seen and worked through those mistakes before, Notre Dame should be well-prepared to do so again. The Irish come out on top over the Aggies in week three.
Prediction: Notre Dame: 21, Texas A&M: 14
