Notre Dame at Texas A&M Preview and Predictions! - 2024 Week 1 College Football Predictions

[Music] [Applause] [Music] then Sports centry we go for a college football game preview and prediction on the week one match up between Notre Dame and Texas A&M two teams that have a lot of potential looking forward to 2024 but only one of these teams gets to start one and0 so with that we'll be up for a full game preview and prediction on this match up here today let's get started against me on Saturday the 31st in College Station some would say this is uh the biggest match of week one two teams that are ranked in the top 20 plus you consider the story lines heading into this one Riley Leonard new quarterback for Notre Dame facing off against his former head coach Mike Elco this is the first game of the Elco era in Texas A&M so you consider that you consider two teams that could be in the college football playoff this season it's a pretty big match up coming up here in week one spreads going Texas by two and a half over under 46 and a half so maybe a more defensive match that we could expect here FBI is going Notre Dame though right around 59% so spreading the FBI do disagree on this one the series history uh the Irish lead at 3 to2 the last time we saw these two teams play each other was back in 2001 when tchm won in College Station 24-3 your second comparison Notre Dame last season these are your stats from 2023 so obviously things are different looking forward to 2024 but this can give you an idea as to where both teams were strongest last season and honestly this could be similar in 2024 Notre Dame's a very balanced team overall uh they were eighth in points per game ninth in points a lab last season both in the top 10 in the country but when it came to the passing game that you could say was the main weakness which obviously was was a little bit of a surprise with having Sam Harman in there who was really impressive um heading in after his time at Wake Forest uh when it comes to defense Notre Dame was especially impressive against the pass but also a top 30 Rush defense uh definitely not to be slept on but for Texas A&M overall I mean this was a this wasn't a terrible team last year they were 29th in passard a game 90th and rush yards um this was a stronger team on defense I would just say Texan was a bit of an inconsistent team last year they were actually a really competitive team they had only seven wins which doesn't look good but this team was very competitive though when they played Alabama they kept it within six they played Tennessee on the road who was ranked in the top 20 at the time um lost to them by a touchdown old Miz was really good last year and they went right up next to them they lost the game 38 to 35 lost by three uh they were competitive at LSU competitive against Oklahoma State uh just problem was all those games were losses last season so for Texas an it's just about getting over the hump and finding a way to win some of those uh close games against good teams this team pretty much beat every team they should have last season and most of those games were in convincing fashion obviously the Miami game was kind of a different story but things changed after that and so for yagi hitting into the season ranked in the ranked 20th in the country I think this team is deserving of that this is a talented enough team to be a contender in the SEC this season it's just about can they win the close games against those really good opponents but with that your key point Notre Dame 10 and3 overall IR have a favorable road to being a national Contender you look at their schedule this season you'll see why this honestly you could say this is the toughest game on Notre Dame schedule this season they play three teams ranked in the preseason top 25 those teams being Florida State um or obviously teex and then Florida State in November and then but they just lost to Georgia Tech so you never know about them and then USC on the road to finish out the regular season so if this team can win this matchup there is a chance that this team will be favored to go 8-0 heading into Florida State so I mean for Notre Dame he considered that Riley Leonard facing up against this format coach on the road I mean that's a huge story line of this one and I mean Notre Dame is a balance team that is strong on both sides I mean I I think Notre Dame's a true dark course this season I don't know that they can win a National Title but I think this team could be a true Contender by the time we get to November um but yeah once again he consider the schedule it's a pretty favorable road for the Irish but for Tex A&M new era under Mike elelo I think this team is in much better hands now and I think the future is finally bright the the thing is you think of the last few years for the yaggies this team has had so much talent they've been they've had some talented teams the last few years it just feels like I mean they just that's the reason why Jimbo was know let go is because this team hasn't they just haven't lived up to the expectations and the expectations that you should have being a team that's talented as this team has been the last few years but this is a stronger team they were a stronger team than the record showed last year truly believe that with the close losses that they had against really good teams defense is likely the main strength the offense still has some questions main one being the quarterback situation Conor Wegman in there I mean he you would expect him to be improved he wasn't very good last year when he played um but overall though this team returns a lot of their key starters from last season so that in itself I mean it's obviously different with having a coaching change but all things considered I think teex s's in a pretty good position looking forward to 2024 and obviously you can't forget about the HomeField Advantage here this is a night game in week one and Tech s is going to be it's going to be a brutal environment almost guarantee you for Notre Dame here so that's something you have to consider heading into this one and what is a critical early season matchup so with that let's get a prediction here for Notre Dameon Texas A&M coming up here in week one maybe the biggest game of the week and in the end I am going to go with Texas ANM to find a way here 23 to 20 is what I'm going with um I do think I mean Notre Dame is the higher ranked team they're ranked seventh in the country but there's a reason why texum is favorite overall here it's the HomeField Advantage it's also the fact that Mike ELO is is the former head coach of Riley Leonard Mike ELO knows the weaknesses of Riley Leonard and you can almost guarantee that he's going to try to take advantage of that and so you consider that I do think Notre Dame's offense I mean and it's also I mean having a new quarterback under Center I mean just look at how things turned out for Florida State and ouang in week zero it can be a challenge having a new quarterback under Center especially in the first week so with it being such a tough early season match up on the road against a good opponent I think texam finds a way here to have a massive top 10 win in week one I do think it's more of a defensive game here so I am taking the under but texting him to cover the spread in the end but with that let me your thoughts in the comments Below on this one definitely a fun match up coming up here in week one and I appreciate you guys watching as always my name is Evan this is all sports Central stay tuned for more we'll catch you on the next one