Saturday night's primetime Week 1 matchup between Texas A&M and Notre Dame in College Station is as intriguing as any of the games on tap this weekend.
Both the No. 20 Aggies and the No. 7 Fighting Irish have legitimate College Football Playoff aspirations this season.
The winner of Saturday night's game at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC will carry a ton of momentum into Week 2, while the loser (especially if it's Notre Dame) will have a much tougher path to a spot in the 12-team playoff.
A&M can theoretically better afford a loss given all the opportunities for quality wins that its SEC schedule provides, while Notre Dame's 2024 schedule only features three ranked teams.
Texas A&M is favored by a field goal despite being the lower-ranked team in the preseason AP Top 25.
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Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M Betting Odds
Below are the odds for Saturday's game in three markets: the spread, moneyline and total.
| DraftKings | FanDuel | ESPN BET | bet365 | |
| ND spread | +3 (-112) | +2.5 (EVEN) | +3 (-110) | +3 (-110) |
| TA&M spread | -3 (-108) | -2.5 (-122) | -3 (-110) | -3 (-110) |
| ND ML | +130 | +122 | +130 | +130 |
| TA&M ML | -155 | -146 | -150 | -155 |
| Total | 47 (o-105; u-115) | 47.5 (o-110; u-110) | 47.5 (o-110; u-110) | 47.5 (o-110; u-110) |
How to Bet Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M
The Aggies are entering their first season under head coach Mike Elko, who replaced the embattled Jimbo Fisher in one of the biggest coaching moves of the offseason.
Notre Dame is led by third-year head coach Marcus Freeman. He led the Irish to a 9-4 record in 2022 and a 10-3 mark a year ago, with identical No. 15 finishes in the 2022 and 2023 College Football Playoff Polls.
Notre Dame Betting News, Analysis
Saturday's game looks like a fascinating matchup in several ways.
It starts with the fact that Aggies coach Mike Elko is facing his former quarterback, Riley Leonard. Elko was Leonard's head coach the past two seasons at Duke before his move to College Station in the offseason.
The Irish landed the former Blue Devils signal caller in the transfer portal this offseason. If healthy, Leonard is a talented dual-threat weapon who could be dangerous in South Bend.
He led Duke to a 9-4 record in 2022 and a season-opening upset over Clemson in Week 1 of 2023, but an ankle injury sidelined him for a significant portion of last season. Given how much he likes to run the football -- on both scrambles and designed runs -- his health is one of the biggest keys to the season for Notre Dame.
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The main reason the higher-ranked Irish are road underdogs is that in addition to Leonard's mobility being a question mark, ND is also dealing with injuries and inexperience along its offensive line.
Notre Dame not only lost last year's starting tackles, first-rounder Joe Alt and second-rounder Blake Fisher, to the 2024 NFL Draft, but also lost projected starting left tackle Charles Jagusah to a season-ending injury in August.
In Jagusah's absence, Notre Dame will be starting true freshman Anthonie Knapp at LT. On Saturday night, Knapp will line up next to redshirt starting freshman left guard Sam Pendleton.
Texas A&M Betting News, Analysis
Texas A&M's defense is led by dominant pass rusher Nic Scourton, who transferred from Purdue to A&M this offseason and is a projected first-rounder in the 2025 NFL Draft.
The favorable matchup for Scourton and the Aggies' imposing D-line against Notre Dame's young O-line could make this a long night for Leonard and the Irish.
Another concern for the visitors is talented Texas A&M QB Conner Weigman, who was outstanding for four weeks last year before an injury ended his 2023 season in late September.
If Weigman is the player we saw early last season, and the Aggies can avoid beating themselves, A&M could be among the best teams in the country this season. The latter is one of the biggest ifs in the country given the talent at Elko's disposal, but the Aggies were often their own biggest enemy under Jimbo Fisher the last six years.
Though both squads have questions to answer, the talent that will be on the field on Saturday night is undeniable. According to 247, Notre Dame has brought in top-10 recruiting classes three of the past four years, while A&M's 2021 class was No. 8 in the country and its 2022 was among the best of all time.
For Saturday night, we like Elko and Scourton to both make splashy Texas A&M debuts in a low-scoring win by the Aggies.
Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M Best Bets
- Texas A&M -2.5 (best odds: -122 at FanDuel)
- Under 47.5 (-110) available at FanDuel, ESPN BET, bet365
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