-
Adam Rittenberg
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Texas A&M rearranged some furniture Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium, starting with a chair coach Mike Elko tossed while lighting into the defense after a sluggish start.
“I don’t know what happened to the chair, but it probably didn’t survive,” Elko said.
Elko’s team proved much more resilient against the type of team to which it typically wilts. Texas A&M erased five deficits to stun No. 8 Our Lady 41-40recording its first road win against an AP top-10 opponent since 2014 at Auburn, and its first road triumph against an AP top-10 nonleague opponent since 1979 (No. 6 Penn State).
The 16th-ranked Aggies did so in unlikely fashion, overcoming repeated mistakes — a punt blocked and returned for a touchdown, Marcel Reed‘s interception, shoddy third-down defense and 13 penalties. On fourth-and-goal from the Notre Dame 11-yard line, Reed threw a touchdown pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher in the front corner of the end zone with 13 seconds left. Randy Bond‘s PAT provided the margin of victory.
“Sometimes, it has to happen that way. Sometimes, it’s going to be ugly,” Elko said. “That’s the door we had to kick down. I don’t think we were going to magically become a team that everything was going to go smoothly. We had to kick this door down, and we did that tonight.”
The thrown chair and broken door left Texas A&M with an open window to push for its first College Football Playoff appearance. The Aggies struggled down the stretch of Elko’s first season, finishing 8-5, and entered this fall with questions, including Reed’s ability to grow as a passer. Reed completed only 17 of 37 attempts Saturday but averaged 21.2 yards per completion, as Mario Craver (207 yards) became the first Texas A&M player to eclipse 200 receiving yards since Mike Evans in 2013.
“That narrative was never right, that narrative was one of the most unfair narratives,” Elko said. “The kid was a top 10 returning QB who completed over 60% of his passes. … The story just became he can’t throw.”
Elko thought Texas A&M could find room in Notre Dame’s defense, and its receivers, namely Craver and KC Concepcionrepeatedly ran free. On the decisive fourth down, though, Boerkircher became the hero.
Reed said the play was initially designed to go to Concepcion.
“Nate happened to end up in a one-on-one matchup against the [linebacker]so he threw the ball up to him. He’s a big guy and has great hands,” Reed said. “I told him I loved him. He caught a big one for us.”
Moments before the fourth down, Boerkircher told tight ends coach Christian Ellsworth that he had “no doubt” the Aggies would win.
“The ball was in the air and I couldn’t even see it in the lights, I was blinded by the lights,” said Boerkircher, a transfer from Nebraska with only one career touchdown catch before Saturday. “I saw it right before it got to my hands. It just appeared.”
Elko and the Aggies recognized the magnitude of the game, facing a Notre Dame team “obviously desperate to save their season.” The Irish, who last season overcame an early loss to Northern Illinois to reach the CFP and the national championship game, dropped to 0-2 for the second time under coach Marcus Freeman.
The Irish currently do not have a ranked opponent left on their schedule.
“The future is uncertain,” Freeman said. “I don’t know what’s the playoff number. It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on getting better and getting ready for next week.”
Notre Dame led for most of the game and received a big performance from star running back Jeremiyah Love — 94 rushing yards, 53 receiving yards, 2 total touchdowns — but struggled mightily on defense, allowing 24 first downs and 488 yards. Freeman said he’s not considering removing playcalling duties from first-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
“At the end of the day, why aren’t we able to execute in a way that we believe we need to and should?” Freeman said. “That’s the question we’ve got to get answered.”
Texas A&M also has to improve its execution in some areas but answered the biggest question in the final minute.
“It shows us that we can do it, that’s a hurdle, and we have to get over that hurdle,” Elko said. “They’ve suffered a lot down the stretch, and for them to finally break through, I think will give them confidence moving forward.”
