Notre Dame vs Texas A&M Odds, Picks, Lines & Expert Predictions

The Mike Elko coaching era begins at Texas A&M on Saturday as the No. 20 Aggies host No. 7 Notre Dame, where Elko had been a defensive coordinator earlier in his career.

Texas A&M is a short favorite on the NCAAF odds.

How’s the Team?

The Irish will be down at least one projected starter in offensive lineman Charles Jagusah as he will miss the 2024 season after suffering a torn right pectoralis muscle during preseason camp. Not ideal considering Notre Dame lost both starting tackles from 2023 — Joe Alt and Blake Fisher — to the NFL Draft. Alt went off the board fifth overall to the Los Angeles Chargers, while Fisher was selected in the second round. Veteran Tosh Baker likely will take Jagusah’s spot.

Riley Leonard

It will be the Irish debut of QB, a transfer from Duke. Leonard emerged as one of the top players and quarterbacks in the portal after back-to-back strong seasons with the Blue Devils.

New Players Arrive

Four Notre Dame players were named to the AP preseason All-American team: Graduate defensive lineman Howard Cross III and senior safety Xavier Watts were selected to the first team, while junior cornerback Morrison and senior tight end Mitchell Evans earned second-team honors. Cross piled up 66 stops in 2023, which ranked second among all Power 5 front-four defensive lineman.

Of the four defensive linemen that started in Notre Dame football’s Sun Bowl victory over Oregon State last season, three return for, 2024 —tackles Rylie Mills and Cross III and Vyper defensive end Jordan Botelho. All have played more than 45 games in their Fighting Irish careers.

Mike Denbrock

The Irish have a new offensive coordinator from LSU. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and Denbrock worked together as coordinators at Cincinnati from 2017-20, where the Bearcats blossomed into a national power under coach Luke Fickell, now at Wisconsin. Denbrock replaces Gerad Parker, Notre Dame’s offensive coordinator and tight ends coach who was hired Dec. 18 as head coach at Sun Belt Conference power Troy in Alabama.

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Notre Dame vs Texas A&M Odds provided by MyBookie Sportsbook

Texas A&M Aggies -148

Texas A&M fired Coach Jimbo Fisher last season and after kicking the tires on some really big-name replacements opted for Duke coach Mike Elko to replace him – a return to College Station.

Mike Elko

The Aggies lost a ton of players to the transfer portal with the coaching change but also brought in a lot of guys.

HC Mike Elko speaks ahead of Texas A&M's 2024 season opener vs. Notre Dame https://t.co/gPtzeKeeRc pic.twitter.com/MvONMhQvXr
— Aggies Wire (@AggiesWire) August 27, 2024

Connor Weigman

The starting quarterback remains the same, a former top recruit. He has had some injury troubles but has gone 5-3 as a starter over the past two seasons, throwing for 1,875 yards and 16 scores with just two interceptions on a 61.8 percent completion percentage. He has also rushed for 160 yards and two scores.

In his freshman season, he didn’t take over the starting role until the late-October matchup with Ole Miss, four games until the end of the regular season. Last year, he was injured four games into the campaign. That running ability in particular could play a big role in his success, especially now that he is fully healthy.

Weigman might not have Ainias Smith (Philadelphia Eagles) and Evan Stewart (Oregon) to throw to this year, but the combination of Noah Thomas, Jahdae Walker, and Moose Muhammad – along with a few transfers – is as dangerous as any receiving corps in the SEC.

The Honors

Three A&M players earned preseason All-SEC honors: Defensive linemen Shemar Turner and Nic Scourton were named to the second team, while offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III garnered third-team honors.

Shemar Turner

Turner started every game he played in over the last two seasons. The DeSoto, Texas, native was top-three on the team last year with 6.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, good for eighth and ninth, respectively, among SEC defensive linemen. He totaled 33 tackles and blocked a pair of kicks as a junior, being named to the All-SEC Second Team by season’s end.

Nic Scourton

Scourton arrived in January after leading the Big Ten with 10.0 sacks and ranking fourth with 15.0 tackles for loss as a sophomore last season at Purdue.

Randy Bond

A&M also should have one of the nation’s top kickers, who was named to the Lou Groza preseason award watch list. Bond connected on 26 field goal attempts last season and averaged 9.7 points per game for the Aggies, ranking fourth in the nation and sitting atop the SEC in both categories. His 126 total points on the year were also good for sixth in the country and second among league kickers. The senior was one of two FBS kickers to send five field goals through the uprights from 50-plus yards last season. Bond has made 39 field goals in his career, the second-best mark among active kickers, with only two campaigns.

Where: Kyle Field
TV: ABC
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: Tunein.com