Newsstand: ESPN reveals College GameDay guest picker for Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M game

The player who kept the Notre Dame football program from winning its eighth Heisman Trophy will be the guest picker on ESPN’s College Gameday. On Thursday, ESPN announced that former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will return to College Station to appear on the longtime College Football pregame show.

The former electric Aggies signal-caller does not have much history with the Fighting Irish besides beating out one of the best defenders the game has seen in linebacker Manti Te’o for the Heisman. Manziel took home the trophy with 2,029 total votes, including 474 for first place. Te’o had 1,706 total votes, 321 of which were to win the award.

To add to the storylines within a game filled with them, the third finalist that year was former Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein. Saturday will mark his debut as Texas A&M’s offensive coordinator, following two seasons as the primary playcaller at his alma mater.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman pursued Klein to fill its offensive coordinator vacancy in the 2023 offseason. He declined the position, and the Irish turned to Gerad Parker, now Troy’s head coach. Former LSU offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock replaced Parker this offseason.

FanDuel Sportsbook says the Irish enter College Station as a 2.5-point underdog. The Irish are 16-20 in games in which they appeared on College GameDay, while the Aggies are 1-5 at home when featured on the pregame show. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Notre Dame Posts of the Day

On3 national analyst J.D. Pickell is buying stock in Irish running back Jeremiyah Love entering the 2024 season.

Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love is a matchup breaker for the Irish and is a name that all CFB fans will know after Week 1https://t.co/FB6p0hsqna pic.twitter.com/Mkmi5M0D4z

— J.D. PicKell (@jdpickell) August 29, 2024

Irish defensive back Jordan Clark partnered with former Notre Dame cornerback Shaun Crawford to launch a podcast called “Irish Scoop.”

Who’s ready for the scoop?

Episode 1 premieres at 12pm EST only on YouTube!

Join Irish Scoop host @Jclark21_ as he welcomes Notre Dame All American cornerback Ben Morrison to discuss his remarkable journey and early achievements on the football field over soft served… pic.twitter.com/NpWCJfh96q

— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 29, 2024

The first two episodes of Notre Dame football’s behind-the-scenes series “Here Come The Irish” came out Thursday.

No place like Notre Dame

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐡 is now streaming on @peacock #GoIrish | @FightingIrish pic.twitter.com/xW1jYwogE0

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 29, 2024

Notre Dame Quote of the Day

“Yes.”

— Freeman on whether defensive tackle Howard Cross III will be full-go, with no pitch count Saturday. A hamstring injury limited Cross from being a full participant throughout preseason camp.