This weekend’s game against Texas A&M is only the second game of the season for Notre Dame, yet the Irish have already found themselves in a must-win situation after falling to the Miami Hurricanes 27–24, during week one. Meanwhile, Texas A&M enters this weekend’s contest with two wins and zero losses, providing the Aggies with much more room for error.
Below are some of the key matchups to look out for Saturday night:
OL Anthony Knapp vs. Texas A&M DL
Last season, Riley Leonard’s running ability certainly masked some of the deficiencies along the offensive line. Leonard’s services as a runner are no longer a luxury for Notre Dame, and it showed in week one against Miami as the offensive line was manhandled for much of the game. Quarterback CJ Carr had 24 true dropback passes and was pressured on 11 of them. The offensive lineman with the lowest grade coming out of South Beach was left tackle Anthony Knapp.
In Knapp’s defense, he’s been playing out of position since last season. He’s a prototypical guard being asked to play tackle. What makes it more confusing is Notre Dame possesses three players along the offensive line who are natural tackles (Charles Jagusah, Will Black, and Guerby Lambert) but were trained all offseason to play the guard position, leaving no true backup at left tackle.
That predicament should give the Irish grave concern this weekend, as Knapp will be asked to protect Carr’s blindside against the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, Cashius Howell. Last weekend against Utah State, Howell recorded four tackles, including three sacks.
Edge: Texas A&M
DC Chris Ash vs. Texas A&M Offense
All last season, including the playoff run, former Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden had the Irish defense in attack mode. It was out of trust for his players that he had the defense playing man coverage more than any other team while sending blitzes more often than not. However, Golden left the Irish for the NFL at the conclusion of the 2024 season, and defensive coordinator Chris Ash was hired as Golden’s replacement. The change couldn’t have been more obvious during week one. The Notre Dame defense played more zone coverage than ever before, and the players looked hesitant and out of place at times.
Back in 2021, while serving as defensive coordinator for Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman said he wanted “football players, not fitball players.” Well, against Miami, the linebackers were playing “fitball” and not football due to the conservative defensive play calling. Will coach Freeman remind Ash of that?
Against the Hurricanes, it appeared as if Ash didn’t realize the type of personnel he inherited at Notre Dame, or he simply overvalued the Miami offense. Regardless, the Notre Dame defense must return to its identity if it hopes to slow down an Aggies offense that’s averaging 43 points per game.
The verdict is still out on coach Ash.
Edge: Texas A&M
Motivation: Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M
Entering this season, both teams shared aspirations to make the College Football Playoff with the hopes of winning a national title. It is just two weeks into the season, and Notre Dame already has a blemish on its record while Texas A&M is still flawless. The Irish will be trying to rebound from their week-one loss to Miami, while the Aggies will be looking to add their third win of the season. Make no mistake about it, remaining undefeated will certainly be the motivation for Texas A&M this week, but that won’t be all, as the Aggies will look to redeem last year’s 23–13 loss to the Irish.
For Notre Dame, this week is all that matters as they have no room for another loss. The Irish must keep the main thing the main thing, and that is winning. An 0–2 start to the season for Notre Dame would likely make reaching the playoffs an unattainable goal.
Edge: Notre Dame
Marcus Freeman vs. Mike Elko
Coach Freeman is 1–0 vs. coach Elko in last season’s head-to-head matchup. Aside from that, Freeman’s résumé shows that he can get his team to respond to games in which they should have won. In 2022, during his first season as head coach at Notre Dame, the Irish lost at home to lowly Marshall, 26–21. Freeman’s team rebounded nicely by beating California the next week, 24–17. In 2023, Notre Dame responded to a heartbreaking 17–14 home loss to #6 Ohio State by defeating #17 Duke, 21–14. Finally, following last season’s week-two loss to Northern Illinois, Freeman led his team to 13 straight wins, including three playoff games.
Therefore, Notre Dame fans should expect a Freeman-led team to respond accordingly in this week’s spot. Freeman has shown no reason to think otherwise.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame Running Backs vs. Texas A&M Defense
In 2024 against Texas A&M, Notre Dame carried the ball 34 times, but that included quarterback Riley Leonard’s 12 carries. Last week against Miami, quarterback CJ Carr led the team in carries with 11. After seeing Carr’s mobility as a runner along with Notre Dame’s struggles in pass protection, it is safe to assume he’ll carry the ball 5–10 times against Texas A&M. However, having Carr as the Irish’s leading ball carrier was obviously not a winning formula. So, it is also safe to assume that Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock will go back to feeding his running back stable the football.
Last season against the Aggies, Jeremiyah Love carried the ball 14 times for 91 yards (long of 29) and a touchdown. Jadarian Price added eight carries of his own for 44 yards (long of 47) and a score. Both backs should have double-digit carries on Saturday night. After all, they’ll be facing a Texas A&M run defense that surrendered 203 rushing yards to UTSA, including a 75-yard touchdown run by Robert Henry Jr., proving they are still susceptible to an explosive run.
Edge: Notre Dame
Most games are won in the trenches, like last game, and I have little optimism ND can fix all it needs to in just two weeks vs. a top 20 well-coached team with dominant lines. A&M this year, with a better QB, a massive OL, better receivers, impressive depth at DL, and Klein and Elko charting their game plan, along with a desire to avenge last year, makes this game, especially at this time of the season, a steep hill to climb for ND. NDs D’ looked not what we hoped it’d be, and the D’ scheme under Ash, who’s orientating to the college game he left years ago, might indeed be an issue. No time to orientate, thanks to whomever set up this top heavy start (Big Daddy Swarbucks ? whomever, who did a helluva job setting up this opening of the 2025 schedule). NDs D’ was the difference in so many wins last season. Not expecting as much at least this early in the season. With a new but promising QB, a new DC, and underperforming lines (so far), ND might not be winning vs. prime time teams this early in the season. They’ll get much better, but not necessarily in two weeks. It’s a long season, but a better start might not be for the above reasons. So to win this week, ND will likely have to score 30+, which they are capable of, if Denbrock calls a better game, and the OL blocks better. If ND loses, ND fan(atic) hysteria will erupt. Guaranteed!
And BTW, use Love!