Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M prediction: Desperation, preparation time gives edge to Fighting Irish

Through two weeks of the season, Notre Dame has only played one game. A rare bye in Week 2 means the Irish received some extra time to prepare for Saturday’s massive showdown against Texas A&M. South Bend plays host to one of the slate’s top matchups, leading to Josh Pate making a prediction on Tuesday.

A couple of factors play into Pate believing Notre Dame walks away a winner. First, after losing to Miami, there is some “desperation” from head coach Marcus Freeman to find a way in this one. Combine the two weeks to get ready, Pate is taking Notre Dame in a close, one-possession game.

“There is something about desperation mode and really, really good staffs with time to prepare, and home field advantage, that makes it tough to go against them,” Pate said via Josh Pate’s College Football Show. “But I do think this is going to be a dogfight. I think points are going to be at a premium… I will take Texas A&M plus the points. However, I will take Notre Dame to win. I think it will be a one-possession kind of game.”

The quarterback matchup is one Pate is looking at closely. Despite not getting as much national attention, Marcel Reed enters the more experienced of the two. CJ Carr, only making his second start, goes up against a defensive head coach in Mike Elko. Signs point toward Texas A&M having the advantage there.

But Pate believes the Miami game will wind up doing Carr a favor. Already playing in a big-time matchup helps him settle into the starting role and settle in on Saturday. If nothing else, Freeman does not have a reason to doubt his decision to make Carr the guy.

Going back to the “desperation” Pate discussed, he meant in terms of the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame must be ranked inside the top 12 in order to be included, as it does not have a path to an automatic bid due to no conference affiliation. Given how the remaining schedule lines up, picking up quality wins might be difficult.

“There’s some talk on the college football streets, by the way, that if Notre Dame is 10-2, and the rest of their schedule doesn’t do them any favors, in terms of quality wins, there are scenarios where, at 10-2, Notre Dame is left out of the Playoff,” Pate said. “I don’t believe that. I’m just here to echo what I hear on the streets.”

Notre Dame will be doing everything in their power to make sure the record reads 1-1 when leaving the stadium. NBC gets the broadcast, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.