3% 1H Under Notre Dame/Texas A&M (7:30 ET): If you’re a regular listener of the “Power 5” on WagerTalk TV, then you should already know that I’m quite high on this A&M team, who I’ve already bet to make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff. I’ll be adding to that position if the Aggies are … to LOSE Saturday night in College Station (will get a better number). Conversely, I’d also bet Notre Dame to make the CFP, if they lose here. Bottom line: I’m really high on BOTH of these two squads coming into the season and believe, regardless of the result here, we’re likely to see them each make the Playoff. 

So I have no interest in betting the side here. But I do like the total. There’s a lot of familiarity here with the two coaching staffs. They are feeling good about new OC (Mike Denbrock), who comes over from LSU, as well as new QB Riley Leonard (Duke) in South Bend. However, the new head coach at Texas A&M is Mike Elko, who obviously knows Leonard very well considering he was his HC LY in Durham. And while Denbrock’s offense had a lot of success LY against A&M, that was with a Heisman winning QB (Jayden Daniels) and against a much different defense (one obviously NOT coached by Elko). Elko’s defenses have been great wherever he’s been in his coaching career. 

It’s a great thing they moved on from the dinosaur Jimbo Fisher in College Station, but this new-look Texas A&M offense is likely to struggle, especially early on, against a Notre Dame defense that allowed only 15.9 PPG in 2023 and has nine starters back. The new Aggies’ OC is Chris Klieman and it may take awhile for QB Conner Weigman (coming off a foot injury) to adjust to the new schemes. In a game where neither offense is going to want to make a mistake, expect the defenses to dominate in the first half when I’ll be on the Under. 3% 1H Under Notre Dame-Texas A&M (Play to 21.5)