The new 12-team College Football Playoff field allows for more forgiveness of regular season losses for everyone around the country, but especially Notre Dame, which could only guarantee itself a spot in the old CFP with an undefeated regular season. But is the season opener in College Station a must-win game for Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman? A strong case can be made that it is.
Texas A&M is currently favored to beat Notre Dame in the season opener, so this is anything but a gimme for Notre Dame. It’ll be one of the most challenging games of the year for the Irish, even if Texas A&M just paid their old coach $75 million to no longer coach them and have a whole new staff following another disappointing season.