Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M: Picks, Predictions and Odds

Kickoff in Week 1 of the 2024 College Football season just a few days away, so it’s time to focus on one of the biggest games of the slate as the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish head to College Station for a showdown with the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies in primetime.

Both of these teams have high expectations for their respective seasons, and this opening week matchup could go a long way into determining which one of these programs makes the brand-new, expanded 12-team College Football Playoff in December.

Let’s get into our expert’s Notre Dame vs Texas A&M picks, predictions and best bet for this highly anticipated showdown.

Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M betting picks and predictions

Texas A&M ML (-150)

Texas A&M has taken a ton of money in the market over the last few weeks, which has moved the Aggies from an underdog to the favorite role at home. Looking at the circumstances around this game, it’s easy to see why the hosts are now three-point favorites.

The Aggies are the much healthier team heading into this important contest, particularly in the trenches, as Notre Dame is dealing with massive injury issues on its offensive line. The Fighting Irish recently lost their starting left tackle for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. This comes after Notre Dame already had to replace one of the great offensive tackles in program history with Joe Alt leaving for the NFL. 

The Fighting Irish have had to rework their offensive line multiple times over the course of the offseason, and the lack of experience at all five positions could be a major issue in the opening game of the season on the road.

Don’t expect Notre Dame’s inexperienced group (six career FBS starts) to win the battle up front against what is a stout Texas A&M defensive line group filled with NFL-caliber players.

There’s also the matter of the massive head coaching upgrade for the Aggies, which can’t be overstated. Mike Elko comes in to replace Jimbo Fisher, who constantly underachieved in big games and failed to run anything close to resembling a modern 21st Century offense. 

On the other hand, Elko overachieved greatly at Duke, turning the Blue Devils into one of the better defenses in the ACC. If he can do that at a program that was, compared to A&M, strapped for resources, he can clearly turn this Aggies program into a juggernaut with some time in the SEC. 

In this game specifically, Elko has the advantage of coaching Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard over the last two seasons while they both were at Duke. This should give his defense a leg up on the Notre Dame offense, as Elko will certainly understand Leonard’s tendencies, strengths and weaknesses.

As a result, he’ll undoubtedly have his defense extremely prepared for what they’ll face.  

Given that Texas A&M should have the coaching advantage and will be playing at home against a team that has undergone a lot of changes in key positions over the offseason, take the Aggies to win.     

Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M odds

Notre Dame	+125 ML
Texas A&M	-150 ML
Spread	Texas A&M -3.0
Total Points	O/U 46.0

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.