There are moments in football that define a season. It felt as if in No. 8 Notre Dame’s heart-wrenching 41-40 defeat to No. 16 Texas A&M, those moments came aplenty. From a failed 4th-and-1 attempt at their own 48 to a PAT mishap late in the game, small errors from the Irish proved pivotal as Notre Dame’s hopes for the College Football Playoff have greatly diminished.
As fireworks ignited the sky while Notre Dame took the field, gold rally towels waved in the air, painting Notre Dame Stadium in a tantalizing mix of red, white, blue and gold. The sparks weren’t done there, however. Texas A&M was forced to punt from their own 36 after going three-and-out on the game’s opening drive. Notre Dame seized the opportunity, with sophomore defensive lineman Loghan Thomas blocking the punt thanks to an open lane. The speedy freshman safety Tae Johnson then scooped the ball up and delivered a house call.
That play set the precedent for the whirlwind of a first half that was to come for both teams.
Following the hectic opening touchdown, both teams went three-and-out. The game did not flash its firepower again until the Aggies’ third drive of the game. Backed up on his own 14-yard line, quarterback Marcel Reed found star wide receiver Mario Craver wide open in the left-side flat. When Craver approached midfield, Notre Dame senior safety Jalen Stroman attempted to make a tackle, as did junior cornerback Christian Gray. Neither were successful in their pursuit, as Craver fended them off en route to an 86-yard touchdown.
The Irish responded immediately. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock silenced critics by busting out a clever flea flicker. Carr initially pitched the ball to junior running back Jeremiyah Love, who then tossed the rock to junior wide receiver Jordan Faison. The dual-sport athlete gave the ball back to Carr, who delivered a 43-yard strike to senior tight end Eli Raridon. Moments later, junior running back Jadarian Price knifed through the defense from seven yards out, and the Irish took a 14-7 lead.
A few minutes of game action later, Price would once again receive the ball and explode for 24 yards. His big play inspired the Irish to drive down into the red zone, eventually settling for a field goal shortly after the conclusion of the first quarter.
Just as the Irish did, the Aggies wasted no time answering. Reed found KC Concepcion for a 16-yard gain to lead Texas A&M past midfield. On the next play, Reed and Concepcion linked up once again, this time for a 45-yard strike down the right side of the field. Removed only one yard from the goal line, running back Le’Veon Moss punctured his way through at the first attempt, cutting the Aggies’ deficit to three.
The Aggies’ quick strike was countered by Notre Dame’s superstar. Love ran for 27 yards on three combined plays. Two snaps later, Love made one of the best plays of his career — an impressive feat considering all of the highlight-worthy moments attributed to his name — by snagging a slightly overthrown ball by Carr with one hand. Wide-open and with room to run, Love did just that as he raced to a 36-yard touchdown, extending the Irish lead to 24-14.
Moss pulled the Aggies back within three points on Texas A&M’s next drive. Disaster then struck for Notre Dame with 3:51 on the clock. Carr frantically threw a short check-down to Price, but overthrew the target. The Aggies’ Scooby Williams was there for the interception, and Texas A&M capitalized with Moss at the end of a seven-play drive. The Aggies held that 28-24 lead into the half.
If the first half was chaos, then the second half was pure mayhem.
Notre Dame kicked things off with a touchdown on its second drive of the half. Positioned deep in Aggie territory, Notre Dame made the most of its prime opportunity. Price darted to the left of the line before exploding 17 yards for his second touchdown of the night, just about untouched on his way there.
Following a short Aggie drive, Notre Dame had the chance to grow its 31-28 lead into two scores. However, its plans to do so were interrupted when Denbrock’s decision to run wildcat with Love backfired on 4th-and-1 at the Aggies’ 48-yard line. The Irish fell short, and the Aggies proceeded to tie the game.
“We started the second half better, but I put them in a bad situation. We didn’t convert the 4-and-1 offensively. They got the ball, I think at the minus 49, and ended up getting a field goal,” Freeman said after the game.
The teams went on to exchange field goals, tying the game at 34. With 9:06 left in the game, all eyes rested upon Carr and the offense to what seemed likely to be the decisive score.
Carr and company did just that, driving down the field in 6 minutes and 10 seconds, closed out by a quintessential Love 12-yard touchdown. The Heisman candidate tallied an impressive 37 yards on the drive — more than he had through the entirety of the Miami game. But the drive ended on a sour note, as Tyler Buchner’s hold on the PAT turned what should have been a seven-point drive into just six.
When asked about what went wrong on the play, Freeman stated, “I didn’t talk to [Buchner]. I didn’t ask him. I was trying to get ready for the next play.”
Down 40-34 with 2:41 on the clock, Texas A&M did the unthinkable. Launch-padded by Reed’s 34-yard strike to Craver on the second play of the drive, the Aggies were able to march into red-zone territory rather quickly. From there, the Irish defense did well at fending off the Aggies’ attempt at the end zone.
However, on a crucial third down at Notre Dame’s 20-yard line, Gray was called for holding. This moment gave the Aggies a fresh set of downs, and on 4th and 11, Reed found Nate Boerkircher for the game-tying score. Randy Bond’s PAT went right through the uprights with 13 seconds left on the clock, sealing the deal for Texas A&M.
With the loss, Notre Dame’s odds for the College Football Playoff are not impossible, but seem unlikely.
“You’ve gotta go to work and practice and get better,” Freeman said. “So what do you control? You control getting better and getting ready for the next one.”
He later emphasized, “We’ve got to focus on getting better for the next week. The future is uncertain. I don’t know what the playoff number is. It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on getting better and getting ready for next week.”
Freeman’s star back Love echoed a similar sentiment: “We’re going to keep our heads up. Stay together.”
Freeman’s assertion is correct. The world of college football is an uncertain one. If Notre Dame is to win out, there is a chance it is in the mix. However, it’s foolish to look that far ahead. For now, the Irish are going to take everything one day at a time in their quest to return to turn the tide on their young season.
