Greg McElroy calls for Jeremiyah Love to get '20-plus' touches against Texas A&M: 'The guy is a machine'

Fresh out of a Week 2 bye, Notre Dame has another high-profile matchup awaiting in Week 3. The Fighting Irish will welcome Texas A&M as they look for their first win of the season, and ESPN’s Greg McElroy said one part of the game plan needs to change.

McElroy called for Notre Dame to emphasize getting Jeremiyah Love the football. The star running back had just 10 carries for 33 yards in the season opener against Miami, though he was heavily involved in the passing game with four receptions.

McElroy said Love should get “20-plus” carries in Saturday’s primetime matchup in South Bend. He also pointed out Texas A&M’s early struggles against the run, allowing 203 rushing yards in the season opener against UTSA two weeks ago.

“I think they really need to stay committed to the run game,” McElroy said on SportsCenter. “Jeremiyah Love is a Heisman Trophy contender for a reason. The guy is a machine. And he just didn’t get enough opportunities against Miami. I understand they wanted to get CJ Carr comfortable with some short passes, but Jeremiyah Love had just 10 carries for 33 yards. Against Texas A&M, he needs 20-plus. He had four receptions on six targets, so it’s good to involve him in the passing game. But he is a workhorse back. He needs touches. He needs opportunities.

“He’s going against an A&M defense that just two weeks ago was shredded for over 200 yards on the ground. Now, they were better in Week 2, but that vulnerability might still be there. So I really want to see them commit to handing the ball off to the best running back in college football in Jeremiyah Love.”

Love entered the 2025 season with high expectations after leading the Notre Dame backfield last year. He ran for 1,125 yards and 17 touchdowns, leading the Fighting Irish in both categories, while also totaling 237 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

After Love’s relatively quiet night against Miami, Marcus Freeman confirmed the game plan was to create more easy throws for CJ Carr, but noted the Hurricanes defense did a good job keeping Notre Dame short of first downs. After halftime, the staff adjusted to try and get Love into the passing game rather than out of the backfield.

“We had our plan going into the game,” Freeman said. “The problem with some of our easy throws, we weren’t getting enough to get a first down. We had a couple three-and-outs. I think at halftime we got together and said, ‘Okay.’ We had a plan to get J-Love in the pass game and some of those situations.’”