College football on NBC and Peacock continues this Saturday as No. 16 Texas A&M heads to South Bend to face No. 8 Notre Dame. The Aggies will look for revenge after the Fighting Irish won at College Station in both teams’ openers for the 2024 season.
Live coverage begins at 7:00 PM ET, with kickoff at 7:30, Read below to find out how to watch Saturday’s matchup as well as additional information on how to watch college football on Peacock.
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Texas A&M
Mike Elko has the Aggies on an encouraging trajectory. After losing to Notre Dame in the opener last season, Texas A&M won seven consecutive games and moved into the top 10 before dropping four of their final five contests. The Aggies won their first two games of 2025 against UTSA and Utah State by multiple possessions and scored 40+ points in both contests. Now, they have the opportunity to avenge last season’s loss to the Irish and use the game as a springboard into their SEC schedule.
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Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman is trying to avoid the same 0-2 start that hampered the Fighting Irish in his first year at the helm in 2022. Notre Dame lost at Miami in Week 1 27-24, but new starting quarterback CJ Carr settled in over the course of the night, nearly leading a comeback with a 17-point fourth quarter. Carr was the biggest question on a roster that had aspirations of improving on last season’s national title game appearance. Coming off a bye and playing at home, this is not a game the Irish can afford to lose.
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Top storylines to watch entering Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame
1. Last chance for Notre Dame to make a statement?
Texas A&M may be Notre Dame’s last chance for a defining victory this season. None of the Irish’s remaining opponents are currently ranked, and they already lost to Miami. Another slip-up may keep Notre Dame from making the College Football Playoff and pursuing that national title redemption.
2. Elko returns to South Bend
Elko served as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator in 2017 and helped the program improve from a 4-8 record in 2016 to 10-3 in 2017. Elko served under Freeman’s predecessor Brian Kelly, which is always a storyline of note around the Irish, for just the one season before beginning his relationship with Texas A&M as the defensive coordinator under Jimbo Fisher, who Elko ultimately replaced as the Aggies’ leading man.
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“For me, I have a ton of respect for the program, the history, the tradition that is Notre Dame,” Elko said. “I had a great year when I was there, and it’ll be exciting to go back. I don’t know if there is any nostalgia in my return.”
3. What will we see from Jeremiyah Love?
Running back Jeremiyah Love projected as perhaps Notre Dame’s best player entering the 2025 season, but he didn’t get many chances to contribute against Miami. He only carried the ball 10 times for 33 yards, and although he also caught four passes for 26 yards, he didn’t have the impact on the game many expected.
A lack of involvement for Love has come to define Notre Dame’s most recent losses. He had only four carries for three yards while managing a knee injury in the national championship game against Ohio State, and he only got five carries in the second half as the Irish imploded against Northern Illinois last season.
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The fact is that when Love is a big part of the game plan, Notre Dame wins. It’s a good bet he will get more of an opportunity to shine against the Aggies — especially given his performance against Texas A&M last year (14 carries, 91 yards and a 21-yard touchdown in final two minutes that gave Irish the lead for good).
4. Can the Irish bottle up Marcel Reed?
After starting eight games for the Aggies in 2024, Marcel Reed appears to be embarking on a breakout season early in 2025. Through two games, Reed has accounted for more than 600 yards of total offense (including a team-leading 105 rushing yards), eight total touchdowns and zero turnovers.
Reed’s status was in question after he left the Utah State game with an undisclosed injury after landing awkwardly. Both he and Elko indicated the expectation that Reed will play against Notre Dame.
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5. Who will win the battle in the trenches?
Notre Dame struggled in uncharacteristic fashion on both lines in Week 1 against a talented Miami team. On the offensive side, Carr was sacked three times, and Irish lineman lost their matchups on key plays toward the end of the game.
“I thought overall they played well,” Freeman said of the offensive line on Monday. “The standard is to play higher… At times, I thought we did get a little bit lateral in terms of how we want to play… I’m as confident in that group as anybody in our team. They’ll be fine.”
The Irish defense, on the other hand, managed only one sack against the Hurricanes and posted an 18.2% pressure rate, the program’s worst since losing to Stanford in 2022.
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The lines are always a focus but are especially important in this game. All five Texas A&M starters in the first two games of 2025 were the same season-opening starters from last season and have all recorded at least 16 starts in their careers. The Aggies defensive front also improved in Week 2 after a lackluster opener, holding Utah State to 78 rushing yards and posting six sacks (three of which came from DE Cashius Howell on consecutive plays in the second quarter).
How to watch No. 16 Texas A&M vs No. 8 Notre Dame:
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When: Saturday, September 13
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Where: Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
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