Early snapshot at the Texas A&M offense and the challenges the Notre Dame defense will need to be ready for in the home opener 

Notre Dame football and head coach Marcus Freeman are in the middle of a bye week, and they will need to move fully past the tough opening season loss to the Miami Hurricanes. They will have their home openers two Saturdays from now, welcoming the Texas A&M Aggies to South Bend. That promises to be another tremendous football game. 

The Aggies, who the Fighting Irish defeated 23 to 13 in the season opener last year, look quite a bit different than they did in 2024. That is especially true on offense, with a whole new cast of skill position characters. The Irish defense, led by defensive coordinator Chris Ash, will need to be adequately prepared. 

Let’s start with the new faces on the Aggie offense. When Notre Dame faced them last year, the Fighting Irish faced off against quarterback Conner Weigman, who is now the starting quarterback for the Houston Cougars. This time around, they will be facing off against Marcel Reed, a much different signal caller from a stylistic perspective. He brings the ability to hurt you with his legs and his arm. 

With the ability to win as an extender, as well as being involved in the quarterback run game, Notre Dame must be prepared to deal with a legitimate athlete behind center. The passing is still a bit inconsistent for Reed, but luckily, offensive coordinator Collin Klein and head coach Mike Elko have put some really interesting wide receiver options around him. Some who fit Reed’s skill set a lot better. 

The Aggies were able to grab wide receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver out of the Transfer Portal from NC State and Mississippi State respectively. Both pass catchers are smaller players, but are equally as explosive as they are quick. In their season opener against UTSA, they showcased their playmaking ability by hauling in 11 receptions for 194 yards and three touchdowns as a duo. Concepcion also had a punt return for a score, which was a spectacular play. 

A year ago, Texas A&M had a bunch of trees playing at wide receiver. They did a complete 180 this offseason to find speed, and players who can make things happen in space. That style appears to fit a lot better with Reed behind center. 

At running back, Notre Dame fans should be familiar with Le’Veon Moss, who had a nice game against them last season. He appeared to be on a bit of a pitch count in the opening against UTSA, only touching the ball four times in total. You should expect him to touch the ball a lot against the Irish, as well as dynamic runner Rueben Owens, who is back fully healthy from injury.  

Two weeks after getting physically dominated up front, Notre Dame will have to contend with an Aggie offensive line that may be even better than Miami’s. Chase Bisontis is the most talented lineman up front for Texas A&M at left guard, and he’s fully healthy this time around, unlike last season. Left tackle Trey Zuhn III is rock solid at left tackle, and so is Ar’maj Reed-Adams at right guard. Add in Mark Nabou at center, and Demetrius Crownover at right tackle, and this unit is excellent. 

After the loss to the Hurricanes and a bye week, this Notre Dame team is going to have to be ready mentally. This is going to be a challenging offense, which is going to stress this Irish defense laterally. Tackling in space will be especially important, while also having to be physical up front.