Texas A&M Aggies at Notre Dame Early Preview: What the Stats Say

The Texas A&M Aggies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off for the second season in a row.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Taurean York (21) and defensive lineman Albert Regis (17) tackle Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Week 3 of the 2025 season awaits the first true test in Mike Elko's second season as the Texas A&M head coach as the Aggies head to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish.

After what should be a pair of easy wins to start the year over UTSA and Utah State, the difficulty for the Aggies could be turned up to "expert" as they combat the reigning national runners-up.

Like the season opener last year, the game is really anybody's to win, as both teams will still be adjusting to new faces in critical roles on the gridiron, with Texas A&M filling in some holes on defense, and Notre Dame working with a new quarterback.

Dec 20, 2024; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman during the first quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

But before the two teams clash in September, let's crunch some numbers and see how the teams line up on paper with a statistical breakdown of the two teams from the 2024 season.

In terms of yardage, the Fighting Irish were extremely balanced throughout 2024, averaging 198.1 yards passing and 200.9 rushing yards per game, an overall average of 399.1 offensive yards per game.

The Irish also scored at least 23 points in every game in the 2024 season, except for their upset loss against Northern Illinois, where the team only mustered 14 points.

The team also scored 49 or more points six times throughout the season, which included a 66-7 manhandling of the Purdue Boilermakers just one week after that upset.

Defensively, the Irish were a tad lenient at times, but when they were matched up with who they were, it might be understandable that the team allowed 307.4 yards of offense per game to their opposition, 169.4 passing and 138.1 rushing, so whichever approach Elko decides to roll with on Sept. 13 should work pretty well.

As for the Maroon and White offense, they averaged slightly more passing yards per game, with 210.3, slightly less rushing yards with 195.5, and a higher overall total yardage, with 405.8.

Defensively, however, is where the team seemed to struggle, allowing 367.3 yards per game to their opponents, significantly more than the Irish defense is willing to surrender, and at one point during the beginning of last season, the Aggie rush defense almost seemed non-existent at times, allowing an average of nearly 200 yards on the ground through the first three games.

And in their season-opening battle from August last year, Notre Dame put up over 100 more yards of total offense, 356 to A&M's 246, the Aggies had two turnovers while the Irish didn't have any, and Notre Dame's 18 first downs were just slightly more than A&M's 17.

The offensive production included 198 yards on the ground from Notre Dame, including a 47-yard rushing score by Jadarian Price and a game-sealing score by Jeremiyah Love, who led the way with 91 yards as the Irish took a 23-13 victory at Kyle Field.

The Irish and the Aggies are set to kick off at 6:30 P.M. on Sept. 13 from Notre Dame.