ESPN’s analyst has Notre Dame as the biggest winner of Week 1

The consensus for Notre Dame after the first week of the season couldn’t be clearer: This team is good. A road game against Texas A&M that previous Irish teams would have lost became the 2024 Irish’s first victory. It’s resulted in more than moving up to fifth in the latest AP poll and making College Football Playoff projections.

During Tuesday’s broadcast of ESPN’s “Around the Horn”, the panel was asked which team emerged as the biggest winner of Week 1. While every panelist had a different answer, Courtney Cronin went with the Irish. She explained it the following way:

“Going down to College Station in the heat as underdogs despite being ranked higher than Texas A&M in front of a hundred thousand people and pulling out that win in Week 1? This was supposed to be the hard one for a team that doesn’t play in a conference. We’re talking about the playoff, what Notre Dame needs to do to get there. They answered the toughest test from the first game of the season.

I know if you like offense, this might have been a little bit of a snooze fest early on, but to watch how that offensive line that had six starts combined going into this season, didn’t give up a sack, protected Riley Leonard all night, that go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter leaving nothing in doubt.

And let it be clear: They have a great front seven. It’s that secondary of Notre Dame that is one of the best, if not the best in the country, and they proved that.”

If you want to watch everyone’s pick, you can watch here:

The vibe surrounding the Irish couldn’t be more positive right now. A win like we saw against the Aggies will do that.

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