Newsstand: What SP+ projections say about Notre Dame football at Texas A&M
ESPN’s SP+ projections for Week 1 are in, and the numbers predict Notre Dame to win a close one at Texas A&M.
According to ESPN writer Bill Connelly, the Irish are projected to beat the Aggies by 1.8 points, with a rounded final score of 29-27. That’s the fifth-tightest projected margin in college football, behind Miami (FL) at Florida, Coastal Carolina at Jacksonville State, North Carolina at Minnesota and Eastern Michigan at UMass, respectively.
SP+ also gives the Irish a 54 percent win probability, which is the fifth-smallest chance of victory for the projected winner in Week 1, behind those same four games.
While the numbers like Notre Dame, the bettors like Texas A&M. The Aggies are 2.5-point favorites as of Tuesday afternoon, according to FanDuel Sports Book. SP+ is also predicting a relatively high-scoring game, compared to what most expect.
The Vegas over/under for Saturday night’s matchup is 46.5, per FanDuel. The difference between Vegas’ over/under and the projected SP+ point total is 9.3, which is the second-most drastic “over” projection in Week 1 behind UNLV at Houston (9.9).
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Notre Dame at Texas A&M kicks off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday in College Station, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ABC and streamed on ESPN+.
Notre Dame Tweets of the day
Notre Dame’s fall semester has begun, just in time for football season.
Manti Te’o wore a Fighting Irish hockey jersey Tuesday morning on Good Morning Football.
It’s almost time.
Quote of the day
“I told the guys, it’s the greatest honor of my life to this point. And it’s really because my teammates voted on that. They saw my name on the paper and wrote my name down. That really just meant a lot to me. For a guy who wasn’t able to do pretty much anything in the winter and spring, but try my best to relate to these guys off the field, in the summer, that was the priority. Like I’m gonna come in, and these guys might not have my trust now but I’m gonna prove it to them every single day, and I’m gonna go to work every single day in the summer.
“So obviously, I set a goal to be a captain and it paid off. All that hard work — and that’s not where it ends, like, that’s just the start of my leadership on this team. So a lot of people, like, they get the achievement, boom, I’m in. Nah, that just motivates me more to be better every day.”
— Notre Dame senior quarterback Riley Leonard on being named a captain
Headlines of the day
- Why Notre Dame will be prepared for the heat, noise at Texas A&M
- Mano a mano: Inside the Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko matchup
- Recruiting rewind: Starting left side of Texas A&M O-line comprised of former Notre Dame targets
- Everything Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said about Riley Leonard, Notre Dame
- Point/counterpoint: What is Notre Dame’s most concerning position group
- Quick hitters: What Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock said before Week 1 at Texas A&M
- Quick hitters: What Notre Dame DC Al Golden said before Irish vs. Texas A&M
