Texas A&M will make the trip up to South Bend for a high-profile matchup against Notre Dame on Saturday.
The Aggies will be looking to avenge their home loss to the Fighting Irish from last season. That was the first of 4 losses Texas A&M ultimately accrued during last year’s regular season.
Notre Dame, who is coming off of a close road loss to Miami in Week 1, is a significant betting favorite in this matchup.
Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame preview
Here’s a look at the up-to-date betting odds for this matchup between Texas A&M and Notre Dame:
Texas A&M fact sheet
- Texas A&M is 2-0 this year with wins over UTSA and Utah State on its résumé, meaning this will be the Aggies’ first true test of the 2025 season.
- Quarterback Marcel Reed went down with an apparent minor injury on Saturday but he’s expected to play in this game. Reed has been good so far this season — he’s thrown for 509 yards and 7 touchdowns while averaging 8.2 yards per attempt. His rushing efficiency has also been strong (career-high 5.8 yards per carry) so far.
- Texas A&M gives significant usage to 2 running backs: Rueben Owens and Le’Veon Moss. Both are off to strong starts in 2025.Â
- The Aggies have an underrated wide receiver room led by transfers Mario Craver and KC Concepcion. Both playmakers have been utterly dominant so far this season, albeit against lesser competition. They’re both in the top-10 among SEC receivers (min. 10 targets) in yards per route run, per PFF. Texas A&M is the only school with 2 receivers in the top 10 of that category.
- Defensively, Texas A&M’s run defense has been dreadful this season. The Aggies are 111th nationally in EPA per rush. That’s a significant red flag considering the quality of competition they’ve faced so far.
- Texas A&M’s pass defense has been OK so far, but far from elite. It ranks 48th in pass defense EPA entering this game against the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame fact sheet
- Notre Dame was idle in Week 2, so the Fighting Irish have only played 1 game so far this season — a narrow 27-24 road loss to Miami back in Week 1.
- That game served as the first career start for CJ Carr. He threw for 221 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception on 30 attempts. He also had a rushing touchdown.
- Notre Dame has one of the very best running backs in the entire country in Jeremiyah Love. Fans and media were critical of Love’s lack of touches against Miami — he registered 10 carries and 4 receptions.
- However, that had likely more to do with Notre Dame’s lack of offensive snaps in this game. The Irish ran just 58 plays in Week 1. Love accounted for almost 30% of his team’s total touches (rushes + receptions) and had another couple of targets in the passing game. That’s well above what his average usage rate was last season.
- Notre Dame has always been very strong at cornerback under Marcus Freeman. That’s the case again this year with Christian Gray and Leonard Moore at corner. However, Miami was effective enough through the air — 55% passing success rate — against the Irish defense in Week 1. True freshman Malachi Toney was particularly difficult for Notre Dame to match up with (6 catches for 82 yards).
- Notre Dame’s defensive line is missing a few veterans that helped it get to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last year. That resulted in just a 6% havoc rate on defense in Week 1. Miami wasn’t particularly explosive running the ball, which is something A&M will look to improve upon in this matchup, but the Canes still had a 46% rushing success rate. Notre Dame managed just 6 pressures on 32 Carson Beck dropbacks in Week 1, per PFF.Â
Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame best bets
I like backing Jeremiyah Love in this spot after a quiet game in Week 1. The Aggies haven’t been able to stop giving up explosive running plays this year and Love is one of the most dangerous running backs in the country. His line for this game seems very reasonable to me considering he could get half of it one carry. Books generally have set rush attempts lines at around 13.5, which implies he would need something close to 5.5 yards per carry in this game to get to 76 rushing yards. That’s a bet worth making in my opinion, given his track record and A&M’s defensive struggles so far this season.
Pick: Jeremiyah Love over 75.5 rushing yards (-115 on BetMGM)
KC Concepcion got most of the attention in the offseason with regards to A&M’s portal wide receiver additions, but Mario Craver is certainly worth talking about. The former Mississippi State standout already has 13 catches for 236 yards and an SEC-best 3 touchdowns this season. More importantly for the purposes for this pick, Craver has lined up in the slot for the vast majority of his reps so far this season. That’s where Miami’s Malachi Toney did a lot of damage against the Fighting Irish secondary in Week 1. I imagine that will continue to be a vulnerable place for Notre Dame.
Pick: Mario Craver to record 5+ receptions (+130 on DraftKings)
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
