Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame PREVIEW & PREDICTIONS | 2024 SEC Football

[Music] the Mike Elco era officially gets underway the 20th ranked Texas Adam maggies welcome the seventh ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish college game day is on hand and All Eyes in college football will be on Kyle Field as the aies and Fighting Irish do battle and we're here previewing predicting breaking it all down getting you ready for kickoff down in College Station guys appreciate each and every single one of you tuning in he is Cole Thompson I am Chris Phillips we are rock and rolling here breaking down this game everything you need to know from College Station guys make sure you like subscribe turn notifications check us out via podcast wherever you get your podcast you can also find us across all social media platforms as well as our website sec unfiltered.com guys this segment brought to you by our friends over at SeatGeek head over to seatgeek.com and use promo code SECU for $20 off your first purchase again that's c.com promo code SECU to get $20 off today the Mike Elco era begins in style as Texas egm does battle against Notre Dame a night game at Kyle Field and a game that has college football playoff implications implications on this 202 for season and even Beyond and helping me break it all down as we preview predict and dive into the weeds of this ball game somebody who's a little bit familiar with Texas EG andm Cole Thompson he joins me once again Cole what's going on man I appreciate you taking the time one of the best games of college football begins week one there's a reason why ESPN and college game day are making a trip over to College Station because it's not only the start of the Mike Elco era but this is a Monumental game for both teams no matter how you phrase it at the end of the day Texas A&M gets this win it's a right step in the proper direction underneath the new head coach that I thought was the anchor of this team for years in the Jimbo Fisher era but on the flip side Nan gets this win at the end of the day when you look at their schedule this might be the thing that either prevails them going to the college football playoff or catapults them into the race of the Dozen dance so either way this is the Monumental game of the week this is why we're talking about it there's a reason why everyone in agil landed everyone up in South Bend the golden domers versus the agies two vastly underappreciated fan bases going toe-to-toe with each other at Kyle Field only for next year for it to make trip up to South Ben Indiana Cole of all the great matchups in week one to your point this is the premiere Game we are all looking forward to and you and I get to talk about it kickoff on Saturday August the 31st a 7:30 pm eastern time kickoff on ABC of course like I mentioned game being played in College Station at cyfield will be one of the best ATM and all of college football you see this season aanm a two and a half Point favorite and they've been a favorite practically the entire off season what does it mean we'll discuss the over under in this game set at 46 and a half uh the series history undername leads it three to2 all time the last meeting Cole these two teams have not met since 2001 when Texas segm won that ball game 24 to three and like we mentioned the number seven ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish now you can debate that ranking should they be preseason top 10 maybe we can have that conversation but there is no doubt this is a talented team that Marcus Freeman rolls into college station went 10 and three a season ago eight starters are back three on the offense five on the defense but it's also Cole what you added over the course of the off season Mike Den Brock who engineered that thing in Baton Rouge helped lead Jaden Daniels the Heisman Trophy he takes over as your OC you had Riley Leonard Mike elco's old quarterback from duke we'll talk more on that in a second uh you look at the talent around him Jeremiah Love jadarian price they'll feature them in the running game your wide receivers are a strength they go six7 deep at that position a big big key and again Cole something we'll dive into more here in just a second you lose left tackle Charles jagwa I believe is how you say his last name either way your left tackle gets hurt in Fall Camp one of your best offensive linemen and Cole you even saw the spread in Vegas change when the news came out he would not play so it's a massive blow to the offensive front Notre Dame was already replacing three starters up front including Joe Al so they got questions there defensively one of the best units in college football last year Howard Cross the third Riley Mills Jordan belloo back up front Jack Kaiser Drake Bowman man the linebacker spots and then Benjamin Morrison is probably a name you've heard a lot if you're a fan of kylo chipaul one of the best corners in the game and you also return allamerican safety Xavier watt so Cole when you take a look I say all to say when you take a look at this Notre Dame team again you're somebody we don't just love SEC football though we love it more than any other conference but we love college football Notre Dame's a team we've talked about a lot this offseason when you look at the Fighting Irish what do you see what do you like with this top 10 group yeah I grew up in Notre Dame fan so I know what Notre Dame football's all about and when you think about last year's roster they were physical they won in the trenches they added in that power with audri estimate they love to be able to push forward with guys like Blake fiser and Joe Al on the outside now you're bringing Mike demock and now you're bringing the Finesse so you still have that physical approach of what you have in the backfield with Jeremiah Love who I think is going to be one of the best running backs in college football by The Season's end just because he didn't break out last year doesn't mean that his welcome party is not going to be presented in 2024 but you bring in that finesse we saw last season Jaden Daniels be able to sling it around the yard like no one's business two Stand Out wide receivers in Baton Rouge and Brian Thomas and Malik neighbors first round picks and you brought in some really good names at wide receiver this off season Chris Mitchell comes on over from Florida International you bring over Jayden Harrison from Marshall you still have jayen Thomas you still have jadden Greenhouse a lot of Jays on this team but also that can mean a lot of scores on this team as well they love to spread it out deep if you're hearing anything come out camp from those that are on the boots on the ground they're telling you exactly what you want to hear when it comes to the fly the football they're not afraid to run it but they certainly are going to spread you out wide they're not going to be afraid to push it down the field they're not going to be afraid to take some deep shots and then on the flip side Conor wigman has got to be able to deliver if he wants to be the Future air parent and probably the best quarterback that's walked through college station since Johnny Manzel but this is going to be one of the biggest tests for him because of what you have in that secondary Benjamin Morrison is a firstr quarterback in the making Xavier watts is an All-American safety that's back for another year there are going to be few teams that provide that level of consistency and that blanketed of coverage it's like a fresh new pile of snow that just came over the Rocky Mountains on a cold December night it's fresh it's soft but at the same time if you hit one wrong crevice it is game over you are sinking you are not going to be able to find your pathway back and you are just going to have to accept defeat and wave the White Flag this is a major test for both sides of the football but you talk about the snur Dame team on paper they are built to be a college football playoff Contender but games are not one on paper they're one on the grid iron and that's ultimately going to be the biggest test for Riley Leonard and Company as they make their way down to SEC country to really set the tone for what other teams like Louisville like Florida State like USC at The Season's end what they can expect against the golden domers Cole as we break down this ball game the Mike Elco era officially beginning game one as head coach in your mind again you're someone who's as familiar with Texas A&M as anybody you cover the yies for a while you been around that program you saw what it was under jimo Fisher and you mentioned and it's not the first time I've heard when I heard you say that you know there there were times I think it was Dave that mentioned it to us that there were times where Jimbo fiser was kind of going off on his whatever Planet he was on it was Mike eloko that kind of the way the offense and the defense it was totally different the way they operated totally different the way Mike Elco operates I mean he is the antithesis of Jimbo Fischer my question is what does that mean in game one right like I don't doubt that the the culture and the the style and and the identity of Texas AGM football isn't going to be vastly different how much of that do we see in week one right I mean h how much of that like when you think about that Mike elco's first game we expect it to look different What specifically are you looking for that you think will look different for Texas &m game one of Mike Elco versus the entire Jimbo Fisher era well you got to realize C money when you talk about this roster for years A&M has had the premier talent and it doesn't help when we get National pundit to come and boost their opinion and say A&M's on the come up we're going to put them at number six in the preseason poll they should be able to compete with Alabama they should be right there with Georgia the team to beat in the SEC to watch for now it's Texas A&M and now we don't have to worry about the wagon being put before the horse but the good news is the pieces are still there like everyone wants to talk about how many names from that historic number one class in 2022 departed College Station for greener pastures they still have a majority of those talents they're they're unproven in some spots guys like Gabriel Brown Lindy haven't been able to reach their full potential Conor wigman was on his pathway to become a really big household name before the foot injury last year they still have the pieces in play but they also now have a guy that feels like the strict babysitter that says 8:00 pm is bedtime we're no if an or butts about it I am going to tell you how things are going to go and we're not going to argue about it and that's kind of what Mike ELO was he was the anchor you know and I don't mean to bring up x uh dead Deadpool and Wolverine but the anchor was one of the major points of that movie to save a universe that was really the Saving Grace in College Station for years Elco top 10 defense top 10 rushing attack top 10 pass coverage top 10 in scoring there was a reason why when you still had Ross FK as the athletic director they wanted to go defensive approach they want want to get back that same mentality that they had with RC slokom when he had one of the best defenses in the Southwest Conference when he had uh The Wrecking Crew when he had that type of mentality that was physical approach attack first ask questions later and I think that that's going to be where you see the biggest change from jimo Fischer to Mike OKO a lot more buttoned up a lot more pristine the mental mistakes that we would watch against New Mexico or against a Appalachian State or UTSA in years past in those games you won't see that on game day you may not be the best team on game day but you will not have those mental feeble fundamental flaws that end up hurting you and allow teams to stick around where they probably shouldn't and that's really where you have the blessing of a guy like Mike ELO coming back in and it's a good fit you know when people went back and they sometimes said why did they go to this pathway you know what what was the whole point of the Mark Stoops thing what was the whole point of looking from the outside and sometimes just going back to the basics is the easiest path not every has to be a nine-step formula to success sometimes point A to point B is not only the quickest Pathway to get there it's also the right way to get there and that was Elco a guy that did more with less during his time at Duke a guy that was able to transcend Texas A&M's defense the second he arrived in College Station and a guy that's been able to find success everywhere that he's been it's the fact that the fundamentals I think will be an established pinpoint for Texas A&M success this year where they may end up going s and5 they may go 10-2 they may go 11-1 and surprise all the country but they will be buttoned up in pristine when you go face off against the Texas A&M roster you will know that they are not going to give you opportunities the way they did back in 2021 2022 and 2023 and my question Cole to your point because I I do agree with you I again it's it's who Mike Elko is it's what they'll be can it happen overnight because that's what you're asking in week one right they haven't played a game nobody's played game I know all reports out of Agy land are positive and I I'm not trying to I'm simply Playing devil's advocate here that I think that's the big question of how buttoned up are we in the very first game or there still things again from the Jimbo era we're trying to clean up that being said when you look at this game Cole on the field and we talk about Mike Elco and and his culture and what comes with it really good defense the guy's never had a bad defense defense is going to be a big calling card EXC EXC me for both sides in this ball game Cole that loss of the left tackle for Notre Dame could be significant I I know Riley Leonard much more mobile he's a mobile guy he can get outside the pocket but you and I have talked a lot about Nick scorton this off season and the type of player we think he's gonna be that matchup alone and how Notre Dame is able to I mean losing your left tackle in Fall camp and you're replacing three starters from last year and your best offensive lineman I think we'll be able to tell really really early on if that's something that's going to hinder Notre Dame and slow them down or maybe that's something they've slid a guy in there and they figured it out but I I think it's gonna be very evident and if they don't have an answer for Nick scorton it's gonna be a really long night for that offense let me just say a quick story so I was there for the spring game this past year the maroon and white and you were watching Nick scorton win battle after battle after battle after battle when it came to offensive tackles he had three quote unquote sacks in the game and by the second quarter it just felt like you know what they were telling him hey don't hit our quarterback don't don't even just like tap him and call it a day because we don't need you killing somebody before we get there Chris that's not even the part of the story I'm trying to explain the part is he's never played defensive end before this is a guy that was an outside linebacker when he was at Briant high school and an outside linebacker from the two-point stand when he had the lead league in sacks in the Big 10 last year Purdue and he's doing this with very minimal reps at running I mean at at left tackle not left tackle at defensive end so we're now talking about this guy absolutely putting together game after game after game he's had rep after rep in practice he's been one of the best overall players when it comes to finding success if he ends up being as good as we think he can be then what are we talking about this might end up being one of if not the most dominant defensive player in all the SEC for 2024 and this is a test he's had the entire spring and the entire part of fall Camp to master the craft of playing defensive end and that's not even including other guys that we know about this defensive line like Shamar Stewart like Shamar Turner cashish how everyone's talking about him and what he brings Solomon the shields at linebacker you also have Scooby Williams at linebacker coming on in from Florida torian York who I thought was the most underappreciated player in the SEC last year defensively because if he might have been a smaller sized linebacker but he played like he 6' three and so now you get those guys up front plus you have a veteran secondary which does have some question marks I'm not going to sit here and deny it because of you did lose some players but you also brought in some names that have experience playing whether that be in the Mac whether that be in confer USA whether that be in the SEC you're allowing Bryce Anderson to move back to his natural natural safety position all that aside you're going to have issues if you're Riley Leonard not only are you going to have to run that RPO to a te to where you understand the passes have to get out pristine and direct if not I mean honestly you may see him on the ground more often than not and it may be because of Nick scorton is just winning battle after battle and if that's the case I mean as good as a as good as Texas Texas A&M and Notre Dame are supposed to be this year one might end up winning the battle by the end of the second quarter it's definitely a match of begin to watch and speaking of match ups to watch Cole let's go to the other side this feels like a huge game for Conor Wegman uh you know with all the offseason chatter and talking you have Colin Klein in there as they go see and I know A&M folks are really excited about that you've got players around in the he obviously you lose Ruben Owens a couple weeks ago but you got Le'Veon Moss at the running back position wide receiver it looks like the yaggies have the pieces offensive line should be better it really does come down to qb1 and this battle between Connor Wegman and a really really really good Notre Dame defense from season go I'm excited to see those matchups on the outside we mentioned Benjamin Morrison for Notre Dame davier Watts again you know the guys like Moose muhamd for Texas A&M the wide receiver room is really really deep you know I I think for the one game's not gonna make a break this kid but I but I think for the early momentum and the perception of what Conor me wman is and what he can be a game like this is important again I don't want to put too much on this because it is game one of year one of Mike Elco but for Conor Wegman coming back from the injury we've talked a lot about hey if he's healthy be a top five quarterback in the SEC he's got that kind of potential if you're going to be that guy it feels like to me Cole a game like this is when you show that I think the other part that's really important is they've had the entire spring of him being at least somewhat mobile also the entire fall to be able to learn this offense something that we have to admit is right now Colin Klein worked with mobile quarterbacks he did when he was at Kansas State it was a big reason why they were one of the top 25 ranked rushing attacks it's why they were one of the top 30 rank scoring offenses in the Big 12 and I get it people are going to say big 12 is different than the SEC but scoring points is scoring points regardless how you go ahead and get them you still want to see that success but everything I've heard from people around the area is that you're going to scheme up plays in Colin clein offense to get your balls to The Playmakers so who are The Playmakers who's going to be that guy that steps up and is that security blanket on the outside when they're matched up against Benjamin Morrison is it a guy like Noah th is it someone like Jay Walker who stepped on up last season in place of Evan Stewart during the injury when you lost an Nia Smith for a couple games are you going to have that with moose muhamad are you gonna feel that much more confident when you get back at Donovan Green at tight end many people don't remember this but Jake Johnson as good as a tight end as he was really broke out last season because Donovan Green tore his ACL in training camp and that was the go-to target across the middle of the field for Conor Wegman down the stretch and so they already have a good relationship ship from 2021 or 2022 what if that now grows in 2024 you also brought in some young players like Ernest Campbell Isaiah Williams What If they break out you know they have lightning in a bottle speed what if one of the new transfers comes in and they start making an impact what if they start running 12 Personnel the way they did back when they were in Manhattan Kansas and it's Trey Watson the transfer from Fresno State what if one of those guys ends up being that security planket and again we know that Colin Klein is going to make sure that Target after Target after Target Target goes to his Playmakers because when the ball is in the best players hands it doesn't matter who is the defense you face off against they will create separation they will create anxiety and more importantly they will create matchups to where you're going to finally see double teams double teams slant towards a certain player and that's GNA open up the rest of the field you don't need Ruben Owens to be your only bread and butter for this team to be successful what you need is somebody to show you that they can be that security blanket be that personnel and be that guy that is going to always be the reliable Target for Conor wigman and if that's the case I mean Chris I hate to be the bear of bad news but Texas A&M has only had two Heisman Trophy winners I'm not going to put the wagon before the horse but if these two are seeing eye to eye and speaking the same language and Aggie dialect we are talking about Wegman being a dark horse to make his way to New York City by The Season's end and again to your point Cole it's it's figuring all that out against a Notre Dame defense that was really really good last year I I I'm really curious to see two Cole with both these offenses matching up who's more successful in the quarterback run game like which of the two quarterback I think you know for each for each defense I think limiting that you know keeping those quarterbacks within the pocket not allowing those third seven third and eight type of conversions I mean that's the thing in a game like this I think that makes one of the biggest differences so I'm excited to see which defense is able to contain the other that kind of leads me into Cole you know we talk about these quarterbacks if there's anybody that knows how to do so he knows everything about him it's Mike ELO facing off against Riley Leonard who was his quarterback last year he went up against this guy every day so when it comes to quarterbacks dueling off quarterback run game like I said that's something I'm excited to see you would feel like you'd give the nod to Elco there potentially with his knowledge of Riley Leonard's game it's not that I only give the KN to Elco because of the knowledge of the game it's because of the way he knows how to scheme up quarterbacks such as Riley Leonard you know when you were in practice the one thing that you always want to do is make sure your defense is a little bit ahead of your offense before the start of training camp because of it's a lot easier for your offense when they go up against opposing defenses to really create opportunities for themselves and build off of relationships bad performances and make sure they don't make those same mental mistakes for a defense regardless of what offense you're seeing you're playing the same type of me uh mentality you're playing the same type of consistency so when your defense is able to scheme properly and eliminate Big Time plays down field take away the rushing attack or make a quarterback that's known for the mobility not afraid to tuck and run not afraid to pick up a few more yards with his legs make him a mobile behind the line of scrimmage that takes away a major element and probably about a third of the Playbook that Mike denrock wants to run you know one of the things that we talk about so much is that last year when you remember that game against Alabama where LSU lost Jaden Daniels and Garrett NM came in it wasn't that nus wasn't a bad quarterback it was that they had to take out a good chunk of the Playbook because that they could not scheme him up because they're two variously different quarterbacks so if you're able to do the same thing where you just make Riley Leonard have to throw the football where they aren't able to run it where he isn't able to go move up the field for a gain of three gain of six gain of 11 and then keep first downs alive that already solves half the equation and that's something that Elco has always been good doing finding a quarterback strength and making it its main weakness Cole it sounds somewhat crazy to say there's college football playoff implications on a ball game in week one but I think that is the case right when you talk about obviously Texas egm getting off to a hot start bolstering their resume with SEC play looming but then Notre Dame right with being an independent they're scheduled they only have a couple opportunities to really Stack Up wins to hang their hat on certainly going into college state winning at kylei will be one of those wins that being said Cole let's dive into it our official predictions for the game game one for Mike Elco we've all been talking about looking forward to this matchup all offseason it's going to be one of the craziest environments in college football this season you know the 12th man is going to show up show out a really talented Notre Dame Squad with aspirations of national championships a Texas A&M Squad who is the favorite I might remind you Cole in this game game did Vegas get it right or does Notre Dame come in and get the upset win the quote unquote upset win if you will Notre Dame has to win this game in my opinion to keep their college football playoff hopes alive if they are to go 10-2 now if they go 11- one that's a whole different story we already know they can't get the first round by because they don't play in a conference but you have to realize that they have two other Milestone games that might end up being blundering baffling mistakes because of I'm not sure I believe that much in USC and I'm not sure I believe that much in Florida State this year there's a ton of question marks surrounding those squads but if you're 11 and one and your only loss comes to an A&M Squad you might be okay if your only loss comes to a Florida State Squad you might be okay 10- two I don't think cuts it so that's a major thing for a for for Notre Dame fans have to realize and I think that there's something to be said about Kyle Field on a Saturday night with3 screaming Aggies where you know that the that that the rafters shake it is a cement Cathedral of chaos but that medal you can feel the vibrations as the 12 man cheers on on third down and I think Nick scorton is gonna make a statement in this game I I think Nick scorton finishes with three and a half sacks I think Nick scorton is the SCC if not the college football player of the week defensively and I think Mike goo best his quarterback I got 23-3 final score Texas A&M starts off the Elco era on the right note and at one and0 defense dominating the day I do agreee with you I think it'll be a defensive ball game I I think we're going to see both defenses sort of rule the day if you will again I'm curious to see the quarterback run games and how each is utilized I mean again it's it's a lot of new right I mean Conor Wegman's got a new OC Riley Leonard's brand new at Notre Dame both have weapons who's more well equipped in week one to kind of hit the ground running and then defensively I think both are salty the loss of the left tackle for not for Notre Dame Charles Jag swah I'm probably mispronouncing his last name but that loss to your point is significant Cole I've said this all offseason long I'm giving Texas A&M an opportunity to overachieve I am and as much talent as I can acknowledge A&M has and as much differently this is going to be differently from Jimbo and they show up in big games A&M shows up in big games it's the other ones they don't right they show up in these kind of games 12th man will be rocking it'll be crazy I love the talent A&M's got on both sides of the football I think A&M could if they win this game we're talking about A&M at least I am completely differently A&M I'm giving you the opportunity to overachieve and to prove me wrong I think Vegas got it wrong I think Notre Dame should be the road favorite here I think the Fighting Irish like you mentioned Marcus Freeman big big big big year for Marcus Freeman their goal college football player for bust like you mentioned to get there they got to win this football game I got Notre Dame edging out a him 24 to2 again asking a guy in game number one for for the for everything to be flipped and then be buttoned up ready to go to a point to be a legitimate if you don't want to say they're top 10 a legitimate top 15 team with the talent they have I think it's a big ask even on the home field so listen can A&M win the game Cole absolutely they can win the game I just want to see it that's my mentality with A&M right wrong or indifferent I want to see it they've got the piece I've also seen A&M fall flat on their face that was Jimbo I get it but how much Jimbo still left in the program can we be honest like how much of it still left Mike Elco what people don't see he's fighting a battle behind closed doors to change the culture and what people don't realize you don't menend to Broken culture overnight it just doesn't happen and you know what if A&M wins I'll eat my words and say Mike Elco did more work than I realized he did over the last 10 12 months or so so very winnable game 12th F going to be Rock they're going to do everything they can to will their team Victory but I am going to go Notre Dame 24 to 20 in a game I think the Fighting Irish have to have the only thing I will say is that you've already admitted that if Texas A&M wins this game your opinion of of A&M is going to drastically change mine isn't but it's for the exact my my ceiling of them will change my my opinion on their ceiling but my but but but my reason is the exact same because I know they're going to show up for this game I'm excited to see them show up for this game I know A&M fans are going to be ravenous inside Kyle fi for this game but do you show up when you travel to Columbia South Carolina do you show up when you have the face off against a Mississippi State do you show up in Arlington when you have to face AR off against at Arkansas because those are the games that we've seen in years past A&M disappoints they'll always be ready for the big showcase but when it's against other teams this is where the stench of Jimbo Fisher has to be a mitigated completely so Cole's got the Aggies I've got the Fighting Irish what say you Texas egm Notre Dame the premier matchup of week one who comes out on top guys appreciate each and every single one of you tuning in make sure you like subscribe turn notifications check us out via podcast wherever you get your podcast you can also find us across all social media platforms as well as our website SEC unfiltered.com for Cole Thompson I'm Chris Phillips appreciate each and every single one of you tuning in and we'll catch you on the other side [Music]