The Notre Dame football team is gearing up for the 2024 season. And more importantly, the Fighting Irish are gearing up for the season opener against Texas A&M.
While most Notre Dame fans are counting the game as a sure win, there are some out there who think the Aggies are going to be a bigger fight than Irish backers believe. Brandon Marcello happens to be one of those people, ranking A&M in the Top 15 while Notre Dame wasn’t even in his top 35.
While other analysts around the country might not think the disparity between the two programs is that pronounced, there are certainly people who definitely believe Texas A&M is better than they’re given credit for. Count Late Kick host Josh Pate among them.
“Texas A&M has all the light bulbs installed. Texas A&M has everything that possibly needs to be plugged in. They just need the switch flipped,” Pate said on a recent episode of Late Kick.
Notre Dame football could have tall order in season opener
“Obviously, Texas A&M folks agree with that,” Pate continued. “There are many others who disagree with that. They say that if that was true, they eventually would have won already. If all these magical resources were there, if all the magical boxes were checked … then they would have won at some point along the line.”
While Pate wasn’t specifically offering a warning for Notre Dame football as it heads into the season opener, it’s one the Irish should keep in mind.
“So if you’re talking about money, if you’re talking about access to talent, if you’re talking about resource pool, salary pool, facilities, those things that we have been taught that are needed to win at a high level, if they’re all there, and I’m an A&M fan, I don’t care what anyone else says. That’s fine. It’s all the more fun to be doubted, but someone’s got to flip the switch for us.”
Pate finished his comments by claiming that Mike Elko could be that guy. The new A&M coach will get to show that when he and his team face off against Notre Dame in September. Until then, it’s best for Fighting Irish fans to not take Texas A&M so lightly.