"Irrelevant" Notre Dame Draws Massive TV Numbers For ABC vs Texas A&M

Notre Dame vs Texas A&M was a mega TV ratings hit

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) throws a pass under pressure from Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

America was ready for football's return, and the Irish & Aggies delivered

America loves football. Duh.

It seems to be one of the only things left in that brings all people together. As such, everyone was beyond excited to watch Notre Dame and Texas A&M battle in the primetime game of the week to open up the season.

And the matchup didn't disappoint.

In what will be yet another factual blow to the "Notre Dame is irrelevant" crowd, this game was the second most viewed Saturday night game in over two years and was the most streamed regular season college game ever with peak viewership logging in at 9.3 million viewers.

Saturday, Aug. 31 is now in the history books as ABC's second-most-watched Kickoff Saturday on record 🤩@NDFootball 🆚 @AggieFootball, @ClemsonFB 🆚 @GeorgiaFootball, and @CanesFootball 🆚 @GatorsFB combined to score 7.6M avg viewers Saturday pic.twitter.com/VZepHYuta4

— ESPN PR (@ESPNPR) September 1, 2024

Whether people love Notre Dame or hate Notre Dame, everyone wants to see Notre Dame play

From a Notre Dame perspective, aside from the obvious practical implications that came with a win over the Aggies, this was a huge perceptual victory for the Irish as well.

The Irish showed the entire country, most of who tuned in to root against the them, that they could outlast an athletic SEC roster at their place at night in the heat.

Aside from this, an argument could be made that Notre Dame's roster was in better physical condition than Texas A&M's was entering this game, as evidenced by the number of Aggies who needed assistance for cramping or throwing up compared to the same on the Irish side of the ledger.

Notre Dame made a statement to the college football world Saturday night.

Can they build on it?

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