Greg McElroy defends Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M as a Top 10 nonconference game in 2025

Ahead of the 2025 college football season, analyst Greg McElroy put together his Top 10 nonconference games. That included the intriguing game in September that will see the Texas A&M Aggies play the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

McElroy ranked that game as his fifth-best nonconference matchup. That’s a ranking he was comfortable to defend on Always College Football.

“At number five, the Texas A&M Aggies will travel to South Bend, Indiana,” Greg McElroy said. “This will be on September 13th. So, a lot to look forward to in this one.”

In 2024, Notre Dame and Texas A&M met for a Week 1 game in College Station. There, the Irish knocked off the Aggies 23-13. That was largely on the back of a solid defensive effort that forced two interceptions from then-Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman. The Irish would go on to play in the national championship game while the Aggies 8-5, but struggled late in the season, dropping four of their final five games.

“We had this one Week 1 last year. Notre Dame in what became an incredible year for the Fighting Irish. They go down to College Station. They exorcise their demons. They get that big win on the road against an SEC and they were able to carry over that momentum — not into the following week, where they came up short,” McElroy said. “But they learned from the mistakes of the first week or two and became an incredible team as the season went on, culminating in a national championship berth.”

In 2025, the game is going to be played at Notre Dame. At the same time, McElroy expects it to be more competitive as Texas A&M should take another step forward in their second season under head coach Mike Elko.

“Now, they’ll get a chance to play against what should be an improved Texas A&M team in so many phases. Coach Mike Elko enters the second year. They get everybody back on the offensive line. The offense in general should be excellent,” McElroy said. “And their quarterback Marcel Reed should be a lot more advanced than he was last year. He didn’t even play against Notre Dame in Week 1. So, now, that should be an incredible matchup when the Aggies head to South Bend there in the middle of September.”

Prior to the game, Notre Dame will already have had a major road test against Miami before taking a bye week before hosting Texas A&M. The Aggies, meanwhile, will have played two games against Group of Six opponents before traveling to play the Irish.