Texas A&M Projected To Play Blue Blood Program In Bowl Game On New Year's Day

Texas A&M could be headed to the Sunshine State come January.

Texas A&M has a goal of making it to the College Football Playoff, but after finishing below .500, the Aggies would likely settle for a New Year's Day game. 

That's what fans can expect if the Action Network's predictions come true entering the summer months. After finishing 5-7 in a lost 2022 season, TAN has A&M finishing with a winning record — probably around 8-4 or 9-3 — and heading to Tampa Bay, Fla., to take on Notre Dame in the ReliaQuest Bowl. 

Per TAN way-too-early odd projections, the Irish enter the matchup as a one-point favorite. Notre Dame also could find itself in a similar spot to that of Texas A&M after a productive offseason in the transfer portal, though its national championship aspirations rely heavily on other teams' failures. 

The Aggies should feel more cohesive this year. Despite losing talents like running back De'Von Achane and defensive backs Antonio Johnson and Jaylon Jones, A&M still has more than enough talent at the positions. Rueben Owens and Amari Daniels have garnered high praise throughout spring practice at running back. Bryce Anderson is expected to be a plug-and-play replacement for Johnson in the nickel after winning Defensive MVP of spring football. 

Warranted change has also come to College Station since A&M's 38-23 upset season finale win over then-No. 5 LSU. Fisher fired longtime offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey and replaced him with former Missouri State coach Bobby Petrino. The Aggies also were aggressive in the transfer portal, adding eight new players to the roster, including cornerback Tony Grimes (North Carolina), linebacker J.D. Davis (Jackson State), safety Josh DeBerry (Boston College), and quarterback Jaylen Henderson (Notre Dame). 

The Marcus Freeman era in South Bend started off as bad as one season could. The Irish lost to Ohio State in Week 1, then dropped what were considered to be "cupcake" games at home to Marshall and Stanford. Things turned the corner near midseason as Notre Dame rattled off three regular-season top-25 victories against No. 16 BYU, No. 16 Syracuse, and No. 4 Clemson.  

Led by initial starter Tyler Buckner, the Irish defeated No. 19 South Carolina in the Outback Bowl to finish 9-4. Since the win, Freeman has been hellbent on transforming Notre Dame into a consistent winning program like his predecessor Brian Kelly, who left after 12 seasons to coach at LSU. 

Notre Dame was relatively quiet in the transfer portal, but it landed one of the top passers in Wake Forest quarterback transfer Sam Hartman. The sixth-year senior claimed All-ACC honors in each of the last two seasons and is the conference's all-time leader in passing touchdowns with 110. Hartman led the Deamon Deacons to their first 10-win season since 2006 with an 11-3 record. 

The Irish own a 3-2 all-time advantage over the Aggies during the regular season. The two programs most recently held a home-and-home series in 2000-01. Notre Dame picked up a 24-20 win in the first game, while A&M came out on top, 24-3, a year later. 

The Irish and Aggies have met thrice in the Cotton Bowl since 1988. Texas A&M won the first matchup in 1988, and the Irish claimed the dub in back-to-back seasons in 1993 and 1994. 

TAN Network is high on the SEC bringing home another championship following Georgia's back-to-back title runs. In its latest College Football Playoff projections, the four teams selected to make the postseason include Michigan, Georgia, Washington, and Florida State. TAN has Michigan facing off against Georgia in the national championship in Houston, Texas

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