Final predictions for massive Notre Dame football matchup against the Texas A&M Aggies

Call it PTSD. Call it pessimism, but Notre Dame football in a prime time slot hasn’t brought the greatest memories in recent years. There are the games that the Irish fans haven’t seen enough victories, and great moments. Will that continue on Saturday at Kyle Field against the Texas A&M Aggies?

Heading into the contest, Notre Dame is the better team on paper. They also have the better coaching staff on paper as well. The biggest area that Notre Dame should have success is when the Irish defense is on the field against Texas A&M. That’s a spot that Notre Dame fans should feel really good about.

With Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills up front, along with former Duke pass rusher RJ Oben, the Notre Dame defensive line has a chance to be very good. They will be opposed by a talented Aggie offensive line with the likes of Chase Bisontis, but one that needs to be developed a bit better under the new coaching staff. This is a matchup that the Irish will have to win.

Texas A&M also has decent pass game weapons, but they do lack dynamic ability after Louisiana Tech transfer Cyrus Allen. Noah Thomas and Jahdae Walker both bring outstanding length, and will be challenged by one of the best secondaries in the country, led by All-Americans Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts.

The biggest question mark Notre Dame fans have is an extremely young offensive line (only 6 career total starts!) against one of the more talented defensive lines in the country that the Aggies boast. True freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp is going to have his hands full with former Purdue transfer Nic Scourton and former five-star Shemar Stewart.

Sam Pendleton also has a big battle in front of him with Shemar Turner and young players like David Hicks. This is the reason that this feels like a lower scoring game, at least for the first two to three quarters. It feels like a game where the defenses could set the tone early until offenses start to open up a little bit in the second half.

The biggest defense I see in the game is Irish quarterback Riley Leonard. You can expect to see some big plays by Aggie signal caller Conner Weigman but the defense is Leonard’s legs. Weigman isn’t going to make a ton of plays working off the spot, while Leonard can. I expect the biggest play in the game to be in the fourth quarter from Leonard, whether that’s with his legs or arm.

From there, it will give Notre Dame enough of a cushion to let Cross, Mills and Oben lose. I also expect sophomore pass rusher Boubacar Traore to have some big reps in the final quarter. That pressure should finish this game, giving the Irish a big victory in a hostile environment.

Final Prediction: Notre Dame 28, Texas A&M 17