With the 2024 college football season less than four months away, a slew of kick-off times have been released to the public. The most notable is Texas A&M’s season-opening matchup vs. Notre Dame on Saturday, Aug. 31, which will air on ABC, the new home for SEC Football.
For the next three months, we at Aggies Wire will provide as much content as possible regarding the matchup, which will be the first between both programs since the 2001 season, and returning to Kyle Field to open up the inaugural campaign for Aggies head coach Mike Elko.
For older Aggies and Notre Dame alums, the first meeting between the two schools dates back to New Year’s Day in 1988 in the Cotton Bowl. The Cotton Bowl was a popular bowl game for Texas A&M during the Jackie Sherrill and R.C. Slocum coaching eras, with seven appearances dating back to the mid-1980s. After their first meeting, back-to-back matchups occurred in 2000 and 2001 before the recent drought.
This big-time matchup could dictate both team’s postseason hopes, so what a way to open up the 2024 season for these two squads. Looking back at the matchup history, we analyzed the All-Time results of the five All-Time meetings.
1988 Cotton Bowl Classic — Texas A&M 35, Notre Dame 10
1993 Cotton Bowl Classic Notre Dame 28, Texas A&M 3
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Coming off a perfect 12-0 finish, Texas A&M’s staunch “wrecking crew” defense apparently took a break in the 1993 Cotton Bowl, allowing Notre Dame to run all over the place, including 34 consecutive rushing attempts in the second half.
1994 Cotton Bowl Classic — Notre Dame 24, Texas A&M 21
USA TODAY Sports
A controversial year for Notre Dame, Florida State was rewarded the 1993 National Championship after receiving more votes in the final poll, even though the Irish had defeated the Seminoles earlier in the season. A 10-1 regular finish for the Aggies meant another trip to the Cotton Bowl to take on Notre Dame for the second consecutive season, only to fall in a close 24-21 contest.
2000 Season Opener — Notre Dame 24, Texas A&M 10
Tom Hauck /Allsport
Another beatdown for the Maroon & White against the Fighting Irish, Texas A&M traveled to South Bend to face an option-based offense behind quarterback turned wide receiver Arnaz Battle. The Aggies failed to find their mojo until the second week of the season. Oh, and this remains the only visit to South Bend in program history.
2001 Season Opener — Texas A&M 24, Notre Dame 3
Ronald Martinez/Allsport
Finally, a win against Notre Dame, this time inside Kyle Field during the third week of the 2001 season, even though this was by far one of the worst Irish offenses in program history. Hey, a win is a win!
All-Time Results
Ronald Martinez/Allsport
As it stands, Notre Dame holds a slight 3-2 lead in the series as the 2024 season-opening battle will be the first matchup since 2001, as new Aggies head coach Mike Elko, who served as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator in 2017, will also face his former Duke Quarterback, Riley Leonard, who transferred to Notre Dame this offseason. In 2025, Texas A&M will travel to South Bend for a Sept 13 matchup for just the second time in program history.