What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 23-13 win over Texas A&M
Notre Dame started the 2024 campaign with a boom, knocking off Texas A&M on the road 23-13.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about the Fighting Irish’s triumph against the Aggies, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Tim Hyde giving their instant reaction to the game in a YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player above.
And now for what they’re saying….
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: How ‘lights out’ Notre Dame pass defense paved way for win at Texas A&M
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Notre Dame left its corners on islands for the biggest defensive play of the game against Texas A&M on Saturday. Why? Because Al Golden knew he could.
That’s why.
The Aggies only needed two yards to extend their drive and their hopes of tying the Irish at 20 in the final two minutes of a Week 1 matchup as massive and monumental as Kyle Field itself, where the fourth largest crowd in stadium history held its collective breath for the make-or-break snap. And there were Irish CBs Benjamin Morrison, Christian Gray and Jordan Clark standing squarely across from a trio of A&M wide receivers with little safety help over the top.
On that front, Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler were more concerned with defending the line to gain than they were tracking the Aggie targets. Morrison, Gray and Clark are well enough equipped to track them themselves. They did it over and over. Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko noticed.
“The challenge tonight was they were going to play us in man all night,” Elko said.
All night. From start to finish.
The Aggies used their slot man to try to free up the field receiver, Gray’s responsibility, with a rub route. The Notre Dame sophomore didn’t backpedal to a point of taking himself out of the play and into the direction of the decoy. The would-be pick play was therefore a nonissue. Gray sprinted right by it and emphatically broke up A&M quarterback Conner Weigman’s intended quick slant.
The pass, on fourth and two from the Aggies own 33 with 1:37 remaining, did not stand a chance. A lot of what Weigman tried through the air against Notre Dame did not stand a chance. That’s, of course, by Golden’s design.
Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: Five thoughts—How young offensive line helped Notre Dame beat Texas A&M
At times, sophomore left guard Sam Pendleton and freshman left tackle Anthonie Knapp looked lost against Texas A&M. At other times, they were overmatched.
Knapp had to face two freakish, hulking monsters at defensive end in Nic Scourton and Shemar Stewart. They frequently undressed him, and he was sometimes slow to put his hands on run blitzers off the edge. Pendleton got senior quarterback Riley Leonard lit up once or twice, thanks to missed assignments in pass protection.
And yet.
Knapp and Pendleton battled. They battled the entire night. Pendleton had the key block to spring junior running back Jadarian Price (more on him shortly) for a 47-yard touchdown, driving and walling off his man for a wide-open hole up the middle. Knapp helped keep Leonard clean on Notre Dame’s final drive.
“I was proud of them,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. “I saw one time Sam missed a block, his guy made a play and he was able to refocus. … It was a great growing moment for this offensive line.”
Here are four other thoughts on Notre Dame’s pivotal win over Texas A&M.
Dave Wilson, ESPN: No. 7 Notre Dame spoils debut of Texas A&M coach Mike Elko
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 7 Notre Dame spoiled the debut of Texas A&M coach Mike Elko and made a statement on Saturday night, grinding out a 23-13 win over the No. 20 Aggies with a strong second-half performance in front of 107,315 at Kyle Field.
The win, Notre Dame’s first road win over an SEC opponent ranked in the AP poll since 2004, was a test of patience for the Irish, who didn’t lead until 6:50 remained in the third quarter following a 47-yard touchdown run down the left side by Jadarian Price.
“Man, that was a huge victory for our program over a really, really good football team,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “That is an impressive football team. … It wasn’t pretty. The defense played lights out, [forced] turnovers.”
It was also the debut of new Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, who played at Duke for three years, and started and was a team captain for two seasons under Elko, before both left following the 2023 season. He finished 18-of-30 for 158 yards and rushed for 63 more against an A&M defensive line that Freeman said was probably the best the Irish would see all season, praising Leonard and the offense for staying patient and not making a “detrimental mistake.”
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman
Opening statement from postgame press conference:
“Man, that was a huge victory for our program over a really, really good football team. That is an impressive football team that’s going to win a lot of games.
“I have a lot of respect for Coach (Mike) Elko. That was a good group we just faced. It wasn’t pretty. (The) defense played lights out — turnovers. And our offense, you know what, we didn’t turn the ball over. Yes, there’s a lot of things we got to work on. But man, they did a great job of at least trying to move the chains or trying to win the battlefield position. We didn’t make a detrimental mistake. I’m really proud of that group, both sides of the ball.
“It was good for James Rendell, our punter, to get his first game. Mitch (Jeter) was big time. Mitch was clutch. There’s a lot of thought going into that field goal, whether you know, go for it on fourth or kick the field goal, and ultimately, we made the decision to kick it, and it was clutch. That sealed the game.
“I’m proud of this team, this coaching staff, the sports performing staff — our team was prepared. They were ready. Like I said, there wasn’t many guys that went down. I don’t know if we had any guys cramping — maybe one. I don’t know. We had one guy who had to get some fluids, but these guys were ready and prepared for a battle, and that’s what it was. It was a four-quarter battle. I’m proud of this group.”
Highlights
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