Paul Finebaum: Notre Dame would be in ‘terribly awkward spot’ with loss to Texas A&M
By Derek Hryn
Published:
Ahead of Texas A&M’s matchup with Notre Dame, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum thinks Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish have zero margin for error to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive after starting the year 0-1.
“The only way is if they get a lot of help,” Finebaum said Wednesday on Always College Football with Greg McElroy. “I think they would be in a terribly awkward spot. If A&M has a good run, those could be two really great losses. They’d need a big win over a ranked USC, and they’d need A&M and Miami to be serious contenders.”
Notre Dame hosts Texas A&M in South Bend on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, in a game where it could feature the rushing attack spearheaded by Jeremiyah Love, one of the nation’s most dynamic playmakers.
Meanwhile, the Aggies aren’t creeping in quietly. They have this matchup “circled” on their calendars, and want to deliver the payback after a 23-13 loss to the Irish last season. There’s also a Mike Elko connection to Notre Dame, where he spent 2017 as defensive coordinator.
In one of the biggest matchups of Week 3, Texas A&M will look to keep the momentum going with a statement victory in the early College Football Playoff race. Notre Dame, on the other side, will try to avoid what would be just the second 0-2 start to a season since 2012.
Notre Dame is a 6.5-point favorite in the game, per BetMGM.
