Week one rarely defines a team’s season. Notre Dame and Texas A&M will be very different teams come December. That’s a given. However, for an Irish team with hopes of taking the next step in the Freeman era, this is as close to a must-win game as any week one game will ever be.
There is immense potential for this season to be a special one. The expanded 12-team College Football Playoff field gives Notre Dame the opportunity to play a postseason game in its building. Jack Swarbrick and Pete Bevacqua have played their part in setting the program up for success, the retired athletic director shaping the new playoff format and his successor investing in the coaching staff and new training facility. He granted Al Golden and Mike Denbrock each four-year deals valued around $2 million per season and provided well north of the $100 million for the new facility. Golden coached a defense that led the nation in pass efficiency defense last season while finishing fifth in yards per play allowed, seventh in scoring defense and third in red-zone efficiency. The group retained several key contributors who waited a year on the NFL for this season: defensive tackles Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills, linebacker Jack Kiser and safety Xavier Watts. Star corner Benjamin Morrison returns, now fully healthy after right shoulder surgery in the offseason. Incoming transfers RJ Oben and Jordan Clark round out one of the most experienced defenses in the country.
Transfer quarterback Riley Leonard highlights the offensive side of the ball. He is surrounded by potential All-American tight end Mitchell Evans, who will have some of last year’s receiving burden lifted by transfers Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell and Jayden Harrison. Jeremiyah Love has established himself as next up in the backfield. Denbrock, who had incredible success with a mobile quarterback in Jayden Daniels last season at LSU, will be able to implement his scheme with Leonard. He will have to overcome one of the most inexperienced offensive lines in Notre Dame’s recent history, but he has the tools at the skill positions to do just that. The team has never been more well-equipped to bring back the national title this fanbase has eagerly awaited since 1988.
None of the potential matters without results. The first two seasons in the Freeman era have offered glimpses of what the program can become: statement wins against Clemson and USC, recruiting classes that have already outshined many of Brian Kelly’s best and star quarterbacks in the transfer portal. However, the third-year head coach has yet to win a truly high-stakes game during his tenure. The Clemson win came after an 0-2 start that killed any early playoff hopes and USC followed devastating defeats against Ohio State and Louisville.
A&M could be different. Considering the outlook of Notre Dame’s schedule and the goal to host in round one, it will have to be. A schedule that began the year ranked outside of the top 50 hardest schedules got potentially even weaker after No. 10 Florida State’s upset loss to Georgia Tech. That was the highest-ranked team the Irish figured to face heading into the year. In total, they play only eight Power 4 teams while all 67 programs in the Power 4 play at least nine, 37 of them playing 10. This puts even more on the line. Starting 0-1 will require the Irish to be perfect over the next three months, a second loss almost surely removing them from contention. On the other hand, a win makes a world of difference for the chances of running the table. Finish the season undefeated and they will find themselves in the driver’s seat for the coveted No. 5 seed. That would mean the weakest non-Power 4 team at home in round one and the weakest non-SEC/Big Ten champion in round two, a clear route to the semifinal.
If Notre Dame wins this game, it likely means the offensive line held up. The week one depth chart came with a couple of surprises, including the choice to start true freshman Anthonie Knapp at left tackle and sophomore Sam Pendleton at left guard. Pendleton has 15 career snaps to his name. Knapp will be taking his first. The line as a whole has only six starts between them and is without a senior going into the opening game for the first time in over four decades. A loss likely means a poor performance from the young group and only amplifies the pressure throughout the season. If they can get through this game, however, everyone can exhale. The line can leave with confidence and grow as a unit throughout the season, which skyrockets the ceiling of this offense, and with it, the ceiling of this team.
Many people already enter the season with a high degree of skepticism about Notre Dame’s reputation as a contender, and rightfully so. A loss to an SEC opponent who could very well finish in the middle of the conference will only raise further questions about whether or not Notre Dame belongs in that top group. These questions will not only enter the minds of the committee but also the minds of recruits. Because for as much as Freeman has succeeded as a recruiter thus far, the challenge of escaping the SEC shadow continues to persist. A win over A&M could be one more big step out of it.
The implications of this one game are massive. Yes, it is only week one. But it could define the season nonetheless. Will the stars finally align for Freeman and the Irish? We will find out on Saturday.
