Irish Breakdown

Updated Betting Odds for Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M Clash

Do the sportsbooks still believe the Fighting Irish are favored to defeat the Aggies in South Bend?
Mason Plummer|
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) breaks free and runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field.
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) breaks free and runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

After Notre Dame's week one loss to the Miami Hurricanes down in Miami Gardens, the Fighting Irish opened as a -6.5 point favorite over Texas A&M. The Aggies come to South Bend sporting a 2-0 record, with victories over UTSA and Utah State.

Saturday's matchup is another massive showdown for Notre Dame in the young 2025 season, while this represents A&M's first matchup of any sort of magnitude this season. Notre Dame defeated the Aggies in College Station last season to kick off the season, 23-13.

Despite Notre Dame losing 27-24 to Miami, it opened as a -6.5 point favorite and that line has stuck all week long. Usually, especially in a matchup of two highly-rated teams, there is at least some movement throughout the week but the spread has stayed pat.

I am by no means an expert when it comes to sports betting or line setting, but I must admit that I was surprised to see Notre Dame as such a significant favorite to open, and even more surprised that it has remained so.

Despite the lack of quality in the opponents that Texas A&M has played, they have looked like a solid top 25 team and one that can give Notre Dame issues. I am fully confident in Notre Dame to win this game by two scores, but I have been wrong before and Vegas is usually very sharp.

Notre Dame traditionally plays well at home against big-time opponents, especially in night games.

Combine that with the fact that in Marcus Freeman's tenure at Notre Dame, his teams have played extremely well with their backs against the wall, and maybe that explains the confidence Vegas has in the Fighting Irish to pull this one out.

Notre Dame Stadium has been known to be not nearly the toughest place to play at in the country, but that has changed in recent years and especially at night. The last few night games of note in Notre Dame Stadium have turned into massive wins, including Clemson multiple times, Indiana in the College Football Playoff and USC every other year since 2013.

The stench of "not being able to win the big one" that Notre Dame has had attached to it for most of my life may actually have been passed on to its opponents. Texas A&M rarely wins big games, is serially overrated, and crumbles when it plays on the road.

Can Notre Dame continue to be as impressive as it has been against the spread of late?

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Mason Plummer
MASON PLUMMER

Covered Notre Dame football recruiting since 2017 for Irish Breakdown, Blue & Gold Illustrated and Notre Dame On SI. Covering Notre Dame professionally got me my start in journalism, which led me to getting my degrees in Journalism and Communications from Ball State University in 2021. Featured on Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, Rivals, On3 and more. Have missed multiple weddings and graduation parties for Notre Dame games.

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