(Photo by Ken Murray/Icon Sportswire)
7-6 a year ago and just six wins the season before and in College Station, Texas, out the door went Jimbo Fisher with that famous $77 million security blanket. This week, Texas A&M will debut their shiny new head coach, Mike Elko.
Elko of course is no stranger to ND. He served as Brian Kelly’s defensive coordinator in 2017, but left after one season to coordinate the defense at A&M for four seasons. He also had coordinated the Wake Forest defense in a 2015 loss to the Irish, and last season he very nearly led Duke, as head coach, to an upset over the Irish.
A&M is loaded with five-star athletes, a total of eight are on their roster, and in the off season they have fortified their roster with 27 transfers. Included in that transfer portal haul is junior defensive end Nic Scourton. Scourton was an all-conference performer at Purdue last season, and led the Big Ten with 10 sacks. He joins an already stout Aggie defensive line, that returns three other experienced starters including senior tackle Shemar Turner who decided to postpone an expected entry into the NFL draft after last season.
A&M will look to replace graduated All-American linebacker Edgerrin Cooper and a depleted secondary with transfer talent. Among those being plugged in will be Florida transfer linebacker Scooby Williams and Kansas State cornerback transfer Will Lee III. Overall the A&M defense in 2023 was the strength of the team, particularly against the run where they ranked 13th nationally, giving up just 108 yards per game.
Word is that Mike Elko thinks he may have the best defensive line in college football. With the Irish coming into A&M’s home field with a talented but extremely young offensive line, including three first time starters, the match up in the trenches when ND has the ball will be critical in the game. Look for the Irish to take advantage of some two tight end sets to help their young line and to rely on Riley Leonard’s athleticism to escape pressure.
Offensively Elko is pinning his hopes on offensive coordinator Collin Klein who was brought in from Kansas State after a successful seven year run there (Klein was once one of Marcus Freeman’s top candidates when he was looking to replace Tommy rees after the 2022 season). Leading Klein’s offense will be veteran quarterback Conner Weigman who racked up a 68.7% completion percentage, 979 yards and 8 TDs before a foot injury ended his 2023 season in week four. Weigman has a reputation for being accurate, and strong armed. A trio of solid receivers return to catch the football including 6-6, Nolan Thomas who had five TD catches in 2023.
A&M’s projected number one running back Rueben Owens is out with a season ending injury suffered in fall camp, but the Aggies two most productive runners from a year ago, Amari Daniels and Le’veon Moss return. They combined for 1016 yards and 11 TD on the ground last season.
Texas A&M is a 2.5-point favorite in this game and the over under is 46.5. That advantage for the Aggies would seem to hinge primarily on Kyle Field. It is the 4th largest stadium in the country with a capacity of 102,733. It is rated by EA Sports as the toughest place to play in college football. Even, in a lackluster 2023, A&M still managed a 6-1 home record with their only loss coming to Alabama by 5 points. That said, Fighting Irish Preview has a sneaking suspicion that the Irish will find a way in the season opener. The addition of Mike Denbrock to an already solid ND coaching staff, a strong Irish culture, now in year three under Marcus Freeman and a team, that is marginally better than A&M on paper, can get the job done.
The Fighting Irish Preview Pick: ND 24 Texas A&M 17