Game Day Central: No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 20 Texas A&M
No. 7 Notre Dame (0-0) opens the season on the road tonight in a pivotal matchup against No. 20 Texas A&M (0-0, 0-0 SEC). Blue & Gold gets you ready with what you need to know before today’s tilt.
Join us live on YouTube after the game as we break down ND vs. Texas A&M
GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date: Aug. 31, 2024
Site: Kyle Field in College Station, Texas
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Television: ABC
Series facts: Notre Dame is 3-2 against Texas A&M with two of those wins coming in the Cotton Bowl in back-to-back years, 1993 and 1994. The Aggies won the first meeting in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 1, 1988. They also won the most recent meeting in College Station on Sept. 29, 2001.
Noting Texas A&M: The Aggies went 45-25 in Jimbo Fisher’s six seasons as the program’s head coach. They never reached a win total of double digits with the best of the half-dozen years being a 9-1 campaign in the COVID-shortened 2020 season … Texas A&M has not won a bowl game since that 2020 season … The Aggies return 11 starters, seven on offense and four on defense, from a team that went 7-6 last season with a loss to Oklahoma State in the Texas Bowl … A&M’s prized possession in the transfer portal was Purdue’s Nic Scourton, who led the Big Ten in sacks in 2023 with 10 … The Aggies also received a transfer from Bowling Green edge rusher Cashius Howell, who had 9.5 sacks last season … Quarterback Conner Weigman has only made eight career starts, but he has thrown 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in them; he’s dangerous when healthy.
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FIVE TEXAS A&M PLAYERS TO KNOW
QB Conner Weigman (#15): The 6-3, 220-pounder will need a heroic performance Saturday night against Notre Dame’s outstanding defense to push the Aggies to a victory. Weigman started the first four games of Texas A&M’s 2023 campaign before suffering a season-ending injury. He’s thrown for 1,875 yards with 16 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in nine career contests dating back to 2022. Weigman ranked as a five-star recruit per the On3 Industry Ranking in the 2022 class.
LT Trey Zuhn III (#60): The former Notre Dame target back in the 2021 cycle is going in to his third year as the Aggies’ starting left tackle. He already has 24 starts under his belt. Zuhn is massive at 6-7, 315 pounds and was named to the 2023 All-SEC preseason third-team offense.
DL Nic Scourton (#11): The former Purdue Boilermaker can be an absolute disrupter on Saturday night. He was tremendous a year ago in the Big Ten, ending the season with 50 total tackles and 15 tackles for a loss. He also had 10 sacks on the season while breaking up 3 passes.
DL Shemar Turner (#5): The Desoto, Texas native has been a featured player for the Aggies since 2021. He’s played in 31 career games and has posted 79 tackles (17 for loss), 8 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 2 blocked kicks. He broke out last season with 6 sacks. Turner was a five-star prospect in the 2021 class.
LB Taurean York (#21): The former three-star recruit had a tremendous freshman season, recording 74 tackles (8.5 for loss), 3 sacks and 5 quarterback hurries. He was named to the 2023 ESPN Freshman All-America Team and is a big part of a strong Aggies’ front seven.
GAME PREDICTIONS
Vegas line: Texas A&M -3 …. Over/under 46.5
Oddshark prediction: ND 42, Texas A&M 18
Tyler Horka: Texas A&M 21, Fighting Irish 20
Jack Soble: Texas A&M 17, Fighting Irish 14
Todd D. Burlage: Fighting Irish 27, Texas A&M 24
Steve Downey: Texas A&M 20, Fighting Irish 16
Kyle Kelly: Fighting Irish 24, Texas A&M 23
Mike Singer: Notre Dame 20, Texas A&M 17
