Following an underwhelming college football slate in Week 2, Week 3 offers a steady diet of huge matchups. It includes a primetime showdown between the Texas A&M Aggies and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Here are my best bets for Saturday night’s game.
Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame best bet #1: Texas A&M +6.5 (-110)
Notre Dame went all the way to the College Football Playoff championship game last season, but it has to be said that the Fighting Irish benefited from a favorable draw. Once they finally ran into an especially formidable foe in Ohio State, they promptly got blown out. Fast forward to this season and head coach Marcus Freeman’s team is not off to a good start. Notre Dame opened two weeks ago at Miami and lost 27-24. The visitors committed two turnovers and their ground game led by Jeremiyah Love was limited to fewer than 100 yards and fewer than 3.5 yards per attempt.
Texas A&M lost to Notre Dame last year, but things could be different with Marcel Reed under center. The Aggies’ offense is not just Reed, either. The backfield is stacked with Le’Veon Moss and Rueben Owens, plus Reed has a couple of transfers at wide receiver to throw the ball to in K.C. Concepcion and Mario Craver. Unsurprisingly, the Aggies are off to a 2-0 start–albeit against somewhat lackluster competition.
The Aggies featured an above-average offensive line in 2024 according to Pro Football Focus and returned all five starters. If Reed is protected and hole are opened for the RBs, this offense can do some serious damage.
An outright win may be too much to ask on the road, but Texas A&M should at least be able to cover.
Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame best player prop bet: Le’Veon Moss Over 50.5 rushing yards (-114)
Notre Dame’s run defense was solid but unspectacular against Miami. The Hurricanes finished with 119 yards on the ground, which inspires some optimism for Texas A&M’s chances. Moss and Owens have been given basically the same number of attempts so far this year (13 and 12, respectively), but keep in mind that last season Moss got 121 carries to Owens’ 16. Moreover, Moss averaged 6.3 yards per attempt to Owens’ 4.1. Now that the competition level is increasing, the Aggies will likely rely on their much more experienced–and quite frankly better–running back. Look for Moss to capitalize.
Leave a Reply