Notre Dame vs Texas A&M: Reasons For the Fighting Irish to Be Confident

The Irish look to improve and take down the Aggies. Here are a few reasons why they should be confident going into the showdown.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) catches a pass as Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Dashawn Fillmore (26) attempts to break up the play in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Notre Dame will play better as a group overall

Notre Dame did not have a great evening against Miami. Under Marcus Freeman, the Irish have a history of performing and competing quite well in the "big game" matchups. For whatever reason, that didn't occur against the Hurricanes in week one. The Irish looked hesitant and cautious on both sides of the ball, and "splash" plays on either side felt hard to come by.

Notre Dame also failed to match the intensity of Miami early, and this was noticeable and costly. I expect a much different performance this week against Texas A&M. I think the team will have a renewed sense of vigor playing in front of the home crowd, angry about what happened in the first game.

None of Notre Dame's six captains played particularly well against Miami. I'm willing to bet that doesn't happen two games in a row, and this group will rise up and make winning plays like we are used to seeing them do. Notre Dame should be zeroed in on this moment, and I expect a much sharper performance overall.

The Notre Dame run game will be the focus

There's no way anyone could convince me that Notre Dame went into the Miami game with the plan being for CJ Carr to have more rushes than Jeremiyah Love. I expect the Irish to overcorrect this issue against Texas A&M and make it a priority to feed JD Price and Jeremiyah Love the ball in much greater numbers.

Making the run game more of a priority will not only help the game flow more naturally for Notre Dame, but it will also help out CJ Carr in his second start. A strong run game has been a staple of the Irish for some time now, and there's no reason to get away from it. I expect a much more smashmouth approach to this game than the first, which should play in Notre Dame's favor.

CJ CARR.

TIE GAME#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/OVz4i35EeG

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 1, 2025

CJ Carr will build on solid first effort

In a bit of sad irony, I felt that CJ Carr held his own amid the chaos that was Hard Rock Stadium as a first-time starter more than many of the veterans on the team. No, he wasn't perfect, far from it, but the moment wasn't too big for him, and he acquitted himself very well in one of the toughest dynamics in college football.

Now that Notre Dame is heading back home to a more Irish-friendly environment and with a little gained confidence, I expect CJ Carr to pick up where he left off. Leading this team and showing flashes of why he was so highly recruited and thought of coming out of high school.

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