In a game that had over 80 points scored and 700 yards of offense, a miss handled snap on an extra point will print itself in Notre Dame’s mind for a long, long time.
The Irish fell 41-40 to Texas A&M Saturday night in South Bend, and in the process moved to 0-2 — a long way from the CFP.
“It's not good enough,” head coach Marcus Freeman said. “Not good enough in run, pass, not good enough in pass rush. We've had some unexpected injuries, but it doesn't matter.”
The Aggies moved the ball up and down the field all night against the once mighty Irish defense. It was no different with two minutes to go and down six.
Marcel Reed — just like he had done all night with 360 yards passing — aired a deep shot to Mario Craver for 34 yards. The Aggies were within striking distance — this time with the chance to take a late lead in South Bend.
“It's probably multiple different things; early in the game playing more zone,” Freeman said. “I don't know specifically, but #1 reason is explosive plays, probably a lot of reasons.”
False starts, holdings and scratching and clawing to the goal line heightened the dramatics as the seconds ticked off the clock, and South Bend and College Station collectively held their breaths as Reed took the snap on fourth and goal.
With both teams staring their hopes and dreams right in the eyes, it was Reed who stepped back, lofted a pass into the endzone and into the unlikely hands of Nate Boerkircher for a game-winning touchdown.
Head coach Mike Elko and Texas A&M finally had their long awaited signature win. Notre Dame, in a season where it believed its national championship was the next step, finds itself a long way from where it envisioned just 14 days ago.
“We've got to go to work in practice and get better,” Freeman said. “I can't sit here and dwell on 0-2 as much as I need to dwell on how we improve.”
Saturday’s game ultimately was decided by more than just Tyler Buchner’s miss-handled snap. It was decided by a Notre Dame defense that let up over 400 yards of total offense.
The Top 25 matchup between the Irish and Aggies was running hot before the game even kicked off. At the end of warmups both teams engaged in a heated skirmish before being separated back into their locker rooms.
Notre Dame’s defense carried over that energy into its first drive. Reed tried going deep, early and had KC Concepcion in space but DeVonta Smith levied a hit at the perfect moment to knock the pass loose.
With the Aggies forced to punt, the Irish special teams showed signs of its ‘24 self. Logan Thomas came right through the line and got his mitts on the punt. Tae Johnson finished the job, scooping the ball into the endzone, igniting South Bend with a 7-0 lead before the offense even took the field.
A&M didn’t have much positive movement on their next drive as Notre Dame’s pressure forced Reed to scramble, coming up short on third and long.
The Irish offense finally got the chance to take the field at the midpoint of the opening frame, and after two weeks of discussion surrounding Jeremiyah Love’s usage, the running back got his number called early. Love got 20 early yards of rushing, but Notre Dame failed to gain any traction.
The Aggies got the opportunity to flash their speedy wide receivers on their next drive as Craver fooled Jalen Stroman on a flat route. The receiver came free up the field and Reed hit him in space. Craver took advantage of some weak attempts at tackles from the Irish secondary and burst down the field for an 86 yard touchdown.
Late in the first quarter the Irish offense got moving, with CJ Carr using a flea flicker and hitting Eli Raridon for a 43 yard gain down to the Aggie five yard line. Jadarian Price finished the drive with a 7 yard score.
After getting burned for a long score on its last drive, Notre Dame’s defense stepped up to try and right the wrong. Leonard Moore went step for step with an Aggie receiver, and put himself in perfect position to intercept a Reed pass down the sideline.
Coming off the sudden change, Price exploded on an outside run up the right sideline for a 24 yard gain — nearly half of the Irish’s 59 first half rushing yards. Carr and company couldn’t punch through in the redzone, but they walked away with points as Noah Burnette knocked through a 22 yard field goal to extend the lead to 10.
Reed and his receiver core really started to take advantage of the Irish secondary in the second quarter. The transfer quarterback found Concepcion twice for 61 combined yards on their next drive, giving Le’Veon Moss an easy rushing score at the goal line.
Carr followed the Aggies’ passing attack on his next drive, throwing for 64 through the air, capping it off with a 36 yard touchdown to Love. The back came wide open on a wheel route, hauling in the pass one handed for his longest receiving touchdown in South Bend.
Once again down 10, A&M head coach Mike Elko went right to his quarterback. Reed continued to scorch a defense that a year ago was one of the best in the nation. The quarterback hit Craver — who finished the half with 173 yards — twice for big yardage. Reed then fired a perfect pass up the seam to set up Moss’ second rushing touchdown to keep pass with Notre Dame.
Now the Irish firmly found themselves in the midst of a shootout. Whether he was feeling the pressure to make a play or not, Carr made a costly decision when he lofted a high pass to Price, who tipped the ball right into the chest of Scooby Williams for the interception.
With both Moore and Christian Gray going down with injuries at points in the half — and both returni ng — the secondary was even more appetiting for Reed to attack. Carter continued to feast on his chances, hauling in a 31 yard pass over the middle in a drive that ended in a third-straight Moss rushing score from the goal line.
Heading into the halftime locker room, Reed — who was viewed as more of a run first guy — was gashing the Irish defense. Reed completed nine passes for 258 yards.
As the second half began, the Notre Dame defense was in some major trouble after being torn up through the first 30 minutes. The Irish did bounce back, forcing two straight stops to open the third. Reed played his part in that, missing two separate receivers deep who had a step on their defender.
Thanks to a stop deep in their own end, the Irish offense benefited from some complimentary football, starting their first drive on the Aggie 29 yard line. Price capitalized on the short field, scorching the defense for a 17-yard score and his second touchdown.
Notre Dame didn’t have it all figured out on offense though. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock on the next drive went to the wildcat formation multiple times — and it proved costly. The Aggies had it figured out and stuffed Love in the backfield on fourth down.
Now with a short field, Reed moved the sticks twice with completions to Concepcion to get A&M into field goal range. Notre Dame stood tall, but Randy Bond knocked through a 43 yard field goal to even the game at 31.
31-31 entering the fourth quarter. Maybe not the exact game Freeman wanted to find his squad in, but his quarterback was delivering nonetheless.
Carr, who was now north of 200 yards passing himself, continued to look strong in the air, dropping a perfect pass in Jaden Greathouses’ bucket for 34. The quarterback was ultimately stopped short in the drive, but his big play to Greathouse gave Burnette the chance to knock in the 39 yard field goal.
“I thought (Carr) played really well,” Freeman said. “He did a heck of a job tonight. Led our offense.”
Up three in a shootout, sometimes all you need is one stop. Reed was making it very hard on the Irish to get that stop. It didn’t help matters when Adon Shuler was disqualified for a targeting penalty when tackling Reed. The quarterback bounced right back after leaving the game, hitting Terry Bussey on a dig.
Gabe Rubio did come up big later that drive. The lineman got his mitt on a Reed pass at the line, and later created pressure on a third and long that forced an incompletion and a matching field goal.
Sometimes it’s as simple as giving the ball to your best player.
Facing a fourth down in a 34-34 game, Notre Dame lined up in the wildcat, with Love under center. It wasn’t the first time either. The Irish used the formation multiple times, coming up short already on a fourth down earlier in the half.
It didn’t matter though. Love took the ball and bursted through the line to move the chains. He followed that up with a punishing 12-yard run that ended with Love in the endzone.
A costly missed hold on the ensuing extra point put a damper on the mood in South Bend as the lead stalled at 40-34 with just over two minutes remaining.
The Irish defense couldn’t come up with the stop as the Aggies went the distance to pull ahead 41-40 and secure their first ranked road win since 2014.
“We have to focus on getting better for next week,” Freeman said. “The future is uncertain.”
Notre Dame will be back in action next Saturday in South Bend against Purdue. Kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.
