The pick — Notre Dame-Texas A&M UNDER 23.5 first-half points (-114, FanDuel)
One of the marquee games of Week 1 pits Notre Dame against Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday. It’s a very fascinating matchup because of the familiarity involved.
Notre Dame has a new quarterback in Duke transfer Riley Leonard, who was a big get for the Fighting Irish. They’ve paired Leonard with new offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who helped Jayden Daniels win the Heisman Trophy last season at LSU.
New Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko returns to College Station after serving as the defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021 under Jimbo Fisher. Elko left the Aggies after the 2021 season to take the head coaching job at Duke, where he led the Blue Devils to back-to-back bowl games with Leonard under center for all of 2022 and most of 2023.
Elko saw Leonard in practice the last two years and can help form a game plan around his former QB’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s one of the reasons why I like this game to be lower scoring.
Notre Dame’s offense also suffered a big blow earlier this month when left tackle Charles Jagusah sustained a season-ending torn right pectoral muscle. The sophomore was slated to replace Joe Alt, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and now there’s a huge question mark over who will protect Leonard’s blindside.
Texas A&M has recently recruited well on the defensive line, so I expect the Aggies to win that battle on the line of scrimmage.
Notre Dame’s defense should have a strong game against a Texas A&M offense that’s implementing a new scheme. Also, the Aggies have a new offensive coordinator in Collin Klein. I’m not expecting a smooth first 30 minutes with sophomore Conner Weigman at QB.
All these reasons lead me to a first-half under. The full game under is also worth a play, but I’d rather take out the second half in case the offenses become more comfortable after making adjustments.