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00:00The second ranked versus ranked matchup that we have on this
00:06Saturday. We head to Kyle Field. 110,000 of the faithful of
00:10the Aggies will be trying to bring all the 12th man energy
00:14they can in the debut of the Mike Elko era for 20th ranked
00:19Texas A&M as they welcome in 7th ranked Notre Dame. We see
00:23this game kind of represents where college football is in
00:27this era. It is the first game for Mike Elko as the head coach
00:30of Texas A&M and in his first game at A&M, he will match up
00:34against his quarterback the past two years at Duke, who's the
00:37new quarterback for Notre Dame. His name is Riley Leonard. He
00:41plays under Marcus Freeman. Again, it's a picture of what we
00:44have come to know in college football. Absolutely and
00:47there's a lot of optimism again in Texas A&M with an eight and
00:50a half win total. They thought that Jimbo Fisher and the
00:53Aggies would win a national championship over the past
00:56couple of seasons. They didn't even win an SEC championship,
00:59let alone get to the college football playoff, but here they
01:02are. What's amazing when you look at this breakdown is that
01:05in the offseason, Notre Dame was the favorite. It opened one and
01:08a half, two, and all of a sudden we've seen now Texas A&M fly in
01:12terms of money and sharp action. Texas A&M in multiple
01:15books, two and a half, maybe three-point favorites in this
01:18matchup, but again, it comes down to Marcus Freeman and his
01:21ability to coach on the road. He's ten and four straight up
01:24over the past couple of seasons. I think the mobility
01:27and experience of Riley Leonard will shine through and I really
01:31like Notre Dame in this matchup. It is a two and a half
01:33point spread in favor of A&M, a top 20 team at home, even in
01:38the first game under a new head coach. That could make some
01:41sense, but Notre Dame is the seventh ranked team in the
01:44country and they're getting points in their season opener.
01:48You taught me very early on when we started working together
01:51here at the Spiz Grizz. The number one motto in life is
01:55Notre Dame plus the points. Is that the thought entering 2024?
01:58Here's the reality. The most unbiased man in the history of
02:01sports media. We did our predictions, left Notre Dame
02:05out of the college football playoff. I've talked about the
02:09schedule being labeled so easy and yet this spot here clear as
02:13day shows that's not the case, but Notre Dame plus the points
02:18comes from a place of understanding when it's
02:21disrespectful. Okay, maybe Notre Dame shouldn't be laying
02:24three in College Station. Alright, you want to make it
02:27pick? That's fair. Bygones can be bygones. You said two and a
02:31half. Not where I'm looking. I'm seeing a full field goal,
02:34which means it is a clear and obvious Notre Dame plus the
02:37point spot. I have no choice. They're forcing my hand. Mike
02:41Alko, Mike Alko, Mike Alko. He's clearly better than Marcus
02:44Freeman. Marcus Freeman debuted in Columbus, helped CJ Stroud
02:47to seven first half points and 21 of the game. Cover, cover,
02:50cover. Last year nearly took out Ohio State. Again, I've
02:54seen Marcus Freeman step up to the moment. Then you talk about
02:57Connor Wegman and what he can be, what he could be. I guess
03:02maybe he has one good game under his belt two years ago
03:05against Ole Miss and it was bad last year against Miami. Riley
03:08Leonard's a big game player who's great on the ground in
03:11those big games, but this is the main selling point. I keep
03:14hearing about the Texas A&M defense. I'm not saying it's
03:17bad. I got you. You check that Notre Dame roster. Benjamin
03:21Morris will see on Sundays. Howard Cross will see on
03:25Sundays. Notre Dame's going to pack a punch on the defensive
03:27side of the ball and all of the A&M things are fair. How do we
03:30get to a field goal? What happened here? Because what
03:33happened is they started disrespecting the Irish,
03:34Alicia, and you know it well. You know it because I talked to
03:37you over the summer and you said be careful. I said be
03:40careful. And now here you are, Notre Dame plus the points the
03:42Well, I'm with you in regards to Conor Wegman. I know that
03:45people have said that if if the draft was tomorrow, Conor
03:48Wegman would be a first round selection. I just don't see it.
03:51I'm terrible. I don't know. I would sell that pick
03:55immediately, but but Conor Wegman again, you know, against
03:58better SEC opponents. He struggled last year against
04:01Auburn certainly as a freshman and with a new scheme, new
04:04defensive scheme. I think people are just expecting what
04:07we saw last year from Duke and that's why I'm going to take
04:10the more experienced team with Notre Dame. Listen, neither of
04:13these quarterbacks in their respective spots. Of course,
04:16Leonard at Duke the past two years was really healthy last
04:19year. Five fully healthy games. We'll look at his props a
04:22little bit later on. Conor Wegman played in four games
04:24last year, injured in that fourth and final game of his
04:27season. Only three fully healthy games. He did average
04:31better than 326 passing yards per game in 2023 and did throw
04:36for a ton against Miami. Two touchdowns but also two
04:40interceptions and added a rushing score. Mike Elko at
04:43Duke. Sixteen and nine as a head coach. Mike Elko also
04:48spent four years as the defensive coordinator in
04:51College Station. The final one in 2021 for A&M. They were the
04:55third best scoring defense in the country. That's why
04:57tonight's total is 47 and a half.