On a drive that wins the game, Notre Dame football shows Texas A&M how it’s done.
No. 20 COLLEGE STATION, Texas In the fourth quarter, Texas A&M and No. 7 Notre Dame each had opportunities.
In the last quarter of the 2024 season opener between the two teams, with the score tied at 13, and time running down, the Aggies gained possession at their own 15-yard line at Kyle Field.
Three and out was the result for Texas A&M.
The Irish won 23–13 on Saturday night after Notre Dame took over on its own 15-yard line and proceeded downfield for an eight-play, game-winning touchdown drive.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE MATCH
After an A&M turnover on downs, Mitch Jeter’s late field goal for Notre Dame won a crucial road victory to begin head coach Marcus Freeman’s third season in charge of the Irish team. How Texas A&M and Notre Dame fare in the regular season will probably determine if this road victory surpasses the 21-14 victory over No. 17 Duke in September.
SEC prestige comes with this victory over head coach Mike Elko, who oversaw the Blue Devils the previous campaign.
After Notre Dame lost to Duke in the previous year’s game, quarterback Riley Leonard of the Irish commented, “I’m sure none of us have really ever played in before.” The SEC is unique. It’s not the same coming down here in Texas.
“I recall trying to see where the stands ended, but it was so far up that you couldn’t even see the top.” Incredible place to play. Extremely appreciative of the result, naturally. I adore these two men.
In the crunch on Saturday night, Leonard and the Notre Dame offense came through for the win right after A&M stumbled. Running back Le’Veon Moss ran out of bounds short of the first-down marker after receiving a ball close to the line to gain, limiting the Aggies to only nine yards in three plays.
A error such as that was not going to happen to Notre Dame.
Leonard remarked, “On the last drive, everyone was so confident that we would be able to go down there and score.” “The only question was when.” We kind of got things going by the fourth quarter, and that final drive meant a lot to us.
Leonard picked up nine yards on the opening play of Notre Dame’s possession, which started with 6:23 left in regulation. On a read-option keeper, he bounced and spun ahead for a good gain. However, defensive end Nic Scourton stopped running back Jeremiyah Love in the backfield, resulting in a four-yard loss, forcing Leonard to convert a third-and-five.
Wide receiver Jaden Greathouse of Notre Dame accomplished what Moss was unable to. He proceeded upfield for a nine-yard gain after catching the ball on an out-breaking route close to the first-down marker. It was only the second conversion in a total of 12 opportunities, and it came on the final third down Notre Dame needed to convert that night.
The next three plays all resulted in first downs for the Irish. With cornerback Will Lee III in close coverage, wide receiver Beaux Collins made an amazing catch close to the sideline for a 20-yard gain. In his debut for Notre Dame, Collins—a graduate transfer from Clemson—finished with a team-high five receptions for 62 yards.
Leonard remarked of Collins, “You just got to throw the ball up to the dude.” And earlier, I was merely attempting to appear overly adorable by giving a back shoulder. I was thinking, “Shoot, I’m just going to throw the ball up and let him make a play,” by the end of that final drive. And he carried it out.
That was a very important turning point in the football match. Just give it to Beaux when it counts most.
The specifics of Notre Dame’s winning drive were also important. Leonard sprinted left for an 11-yard gain on the following play. But in order to keep the clock going, he made sure to get a knee down rather than allow himself to be shoved out of bounds.
At the conclusion of the game, Riley Leonard gave Freeman a lot of confidence. “Give him the ball, and he’ll lead this offense to victory and make wise decisions.”
On the drive, Love then scored his first of two significant runs. Love forced safety Bryce Anderson miss on a first-and-10 play from the A&M 40, running through a near tackle by linebacker Taurean York and winning by eighteen yards.
On the following play, Love was unable to find much room to run, ending Notre Dame’s run of first downs. With 2:32 remaining in the quarter, Texas A&M had the option to call a timeout when he went down after one yard. Elko, however, decided to let the timer run down to the two-minute alert.
When the game resumed, Love had given Notre Dame the dagger. With 1:54 remaining in the game, Love found a crease in the middle of Notre Dame’s two-tight end formation and broke free for a 21-yard score with nine A&M defenders positioned in the box.
Love trailed after tight end Cooper Flanagan’s lead block, which went to the left, and down blocks, which went to the right, from center Ashton Craig and left guard Sam Pendleton. Love ran the remaining distance to the finish line.
Running back Love finished in the end zone rather than going down short to help drain additional clock in a tie game, much like running back Audric Estimé could have done on his 30-yard game-winning touchdown run in the final minute of Duke’s victory last year.
Freeman stated, “I didn’t want to take points off the board.” Most likely, the analytics will advise you to descend.
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