As excitement for the new college football season grows with each passing day, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy is sharing some of his thoughts on the Week 1 slate.
Kyle Field will be the “GameDay” bus’ first stop in 2024 when the Irish travel to College Station to meet the Aggies and the former Alabama QB simply believes this game means more to Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame than it does A&M.
“I don’t even think it’s close, I think by a mile it’s Notre Dame,” McElroy told “Always College Football.” “I think you look at Notre Dame this is the year, this the year that Marcus Freeman has circled.”
“You bring in a highly touted prospect at quarterback, you have a new offensive coordinator… I think the defense has a chance to be one of the best in the country,” he continued. “So if you look just at what they have back I think everything is lined up for Notre Dame this year to make a run.”
McElroy added that expectations won’t be too high for Mike Elko’s first season but added that they can still be dangerous within the conference.
“I don’t think Mike Elko right now is expected to do a whole lot in year one. Now, I happen to think they’re a very dangerous team this year. … I would be shocked if A&M didn’t knock off a contender this year, I really would,” the analyst explained. “That’s what you can expect from Mike Elko. His teams punched up at Duke and I think they’ll punch up at Texas A&M as well.”
The two schools square off on Aug. 31. The game will be broadcast at 7:30 PM ET on ABC.