Texas A&M Road Matchup Named Top-10 Must-Watch by ESPN

The Week 3 showdown versus Notre Dame lands at No. 9 on ESPN’s list of must-watch matchups for the 2025 college football season.

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko celebrates a 52-10 win against the McNeese State Cowboys at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

With 100 days on the schedule before Week 0 of the 2025 college football season, ESPN released its top 10 matchups to watch — and coming in at No. 9 is Texas A&M’s visit to Notre Dame on September 13.

It’ll be a rematch of last year’s season opener, where the Fighting Irish silenced the 12th Man and left Kyle Field with a 23-13 win.

With the game tied 13-13 and under 10 minutes left, Notre Dame leaned on its run game, which had been a strength all year, and sealed the win with a touchdown from Jeremiyah Love.

Notre Dame's Jermiyah Lov — Jan 20, 2025; Atlanta, GA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the CFP National Championship college football game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

From there, both teams’ seasons took drastically different paths.

Texas A&M won its next seven games but dropped four of its final five to end the year on a sour note.

The Irish followed their win over A&M with a loss to Northern Illinois, one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. But they quickly regrouped, winning 13 straight to reach the National Championship, where they ultimately fell to Ohio State.

Like last year, this season’s matchup is expected to be a clash of ranked teams. It’s also been officially announced as a night kickoff, adding even more drama to what’s anticipated to be one of the great games of the season.

The Notre Dame game will be the beginning of a gauntlet of a schedule for the Aggies. A&M will play Florida, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas, all programs that may be ranked by the time of the matchup.

First things first though, A&M will need to handle its business against UTSA and Utah State in weeks 1 and 2 to make sure it enters South Bend as a ranked team.