Texas A&M, Notre Dame paid millions to schedule embarrassing home losses

Texas A&M and Notre Dame were on the wrong side of big upsets in Week 2, and the games also came with huge payouts.

Texas A&M paid Appalachian State $1.5 million to schedule the game, which resulted in a 17-14 loss for the Aggies. Meanwhile, Notre Dame paid Marshall $1.25 million to schedule a game, which ended with the Thundering Herd on top, 26-21.

Both games magnified criticism on the coaching staffs, as Marcus Freeman became the first ever Notre Dame coach to begin his career there 0-3, and Jimbo Fisher continued to face backlash about building the Aggies program.

The Aggies had 22 first downs to 9 for Texas A&M, and App State outgained A&M 314-186, and the Aggies also had 2 turnovers, while App State did not make a turnover.

Texas A&M paid Appalachian State $1.5 million to have them come to College Station. They lost.

Notre Dame paid Marshall $1.25 million to have them come to South Bend. They lost.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 10, 2022

There’s still time to recover, but the issues that faced both programs appear to be long-term issues to fix.