Josh Pate says a Notre Dame loss to Texas A&M muddies Playoff picture
By Jacob Moss
Published:
Arguably, the biggest matchup of what’s shaping up to be a massive weekend of college football is the primetime face-off between No. 16 Texas A&M and No. 8 Notre Dame.
The two iconic programs are slated to meet on the gridiron for just the sixth time ever as the second leg of their home-and-home, the first half of which took place last season at Kyle Field.
The Irish came out on top over the Aggies last year, 23-13 en route to their National Championship game appearance, and will now be looking to complete the sweep at home in South Bend.
There is obviously a ton riding on this game for both teams, but Notre Dame in particular is under a lot of pressure to secure the victory following their Week 1 loss to the Miami Hurricanes.
Starting the season off 0-2 would end up muddying the College Football Playoff picture for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish moving forward, a fact that prominent college football analyst Josh Pate recently discussed on Thursday morning’s episode of Get Up.
“We always knew that Notre Dame’s schedule was a little bit front-loaded,” Pate said. “If you lose this weekend, nothing’s done, but you probably take your fate out of your own hands, and you are relying on your remaining opponents to boost your strength of schedule. 10-2 Notre Dame probably still gets in, but it has just become a whole lot muddier.”
Pate hits the nail on the head here with his analysis, and the Fighting Irish will undoubtedly be looking to avoid the scenario he described this weekend.
If they are unable to beat the Aggies, though, then things will get very interesting down the stretch for both Notre Dame and the rest of the country.
