Former ESPN analyst predicts curveball in Notre Dame-Texas A&M game originally appeared on The Sporting News
Notre Dame proved last season that it is once again one of the country’s best programs, but it has the chance to reaffirm that notion on Saturday night.
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The No. 8 Fighting Irish will host Texas A&M in a primetime matchup on Saturday, two weeks after falling 27-24 to Miami in their first game of the year. The Hurricanes were ranked No. 10 at the time, while Notre Dame was No. 6.
Meanwhile, the Aggies are ranked No. 16, rising three spots after beating UTSA and Utah State by a combined score of 86-46. This will be their first matchup against a fellow AP Top 25 opponent this season.
The Irish are favored by 6.5 points, via NBC Sports. However, former ESPN analyst David Pollack predicted an A&M win during his “See Ball Get Ball” podcast on Thursday.
David Pollack cites Notre Dame’s run game
One of the reasons that Pollack said the Aggies will get the upset on Saturday is the Irish’s run game. They averaged just 3.3 yards per carry against Miami, and star junior Jeremiyah Love had just 33 yards on 10 carries. The 20-year-old was a key reason why they made a CFP National Championship appearance last year, as he tallied 1,125 yards on just 163 carries (6.9-yard average).
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Meanwhile, A&M quarterback Marcel Reed can hurt Notre Dame with both his arm and legs. The 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pounder already has 105 rushing yards and a touchdown on 18 carries this season after tallying 547 yards across 116 chances in 2024. That’s not to mention his career 23-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio while playing the majority of his games against SEC opponents, the hardest competition in the country.
The Irish enter the game 0-1 after their Week 2 bye, while A&M is 2-0. A Notre Dame loss would damage its playoff hopes and possibly vault the Aggies into the top 10, but it’s still too early to predict the 12-team bracket.
