On a gloomy Saturday evening in a sold-out stadium, filled with tri-campus students and fans waving bright gold towels, a sea of gold helmets took a 41-40 loss against the Texas A&M Aggies. Here are the top five moments of the game.
Instant special teams touchdown
After the Irish took the ball at the beginning of the game and kicked for a touchback, Notre Dame was quick to make it to the end zone.
As the Aggies looked to punt the ball away early on in the game at the 13-minute mark and the ball was spotted at the Aggies’ 20-yard line, sophomore defensive lineman Loghan Thomas was first on the scene of a punt, going straight into Texas A&M’s Tyler White and blocking the kick to set the ball loose.
The ball, quickly picked up by freshman safety Tae Johnson, was run 20 yards to the Irish end zone, putting Notre Dame up 6-0. The point after, brought up by senior kicker Noah Burnette, gave the Irish their 7-0 lead.
Moore’s first-quarter interception
As the stadium kept up its electric energy, freshman quarterback CJ Carr utilized his offense and junior running back Jadarian Price on a 7-yard touchdown run. After a good kick by Burnette put the Irish up 14-7, the Irish prepared to defend against the Texas A&M offense, which seemed no problem for sophomore cornerback Leonard Moore.
Looking from the Aggies’ 19, Marcel Reed looked for a deep left toss to Ashton Bethel-Roman, but Moore was there to intercept and give the ball back to the Irish.
Love’s one-handed touchdown
Junior running back Jeremiyah Love kept himself open for the new quarterback, as the pair completed a 36-yard touchdown pass on a one-handed grab, putting up the third touchdown for the Irish and giving them a 23-14 lead.
After the touchdown, Burnette was back on the field for the point after, and the kick was good to make the score 24-14.
Aggie interception turns momentum
While the Irish held the ball at the 3:30 time mark, Carr looked to take the ball himself at the Irish 42-yard line, but to much surprise, the freshman looked to Price as the receiver. As he tossed the ball over the Aggie defender, the ball went too high for Price as it tipped off his fingers and caused an interception by Scooby Williams.
The ball was then seen at the Irish 47, and not even 10 seconds later, Reed sent it downfield to Mario Craver to complete a stellar 31-yard pass to move the Aggie offense closer to the end zone, and after a personal foul committed by the Irish defense, the Aggies marched down to the Irish 4-yard line.
The game-winning touchdown
After a field goal from Texas A&M tied up the score at 34, the ball went up and down the field, but there was no score made. The tension remained in the stadium as no one knew what was going to happen, but Love changed that. With 2:43 to play in the game, Love found his way through the Texas A&M defense, scoring a 12-yard touchdown and bringing Notre Dame ahead 40-34. With this, the entire stadium erupted with cheers, the loudest of the night.
The Aggies drove back down the field in response, though, closing in on the goal line in the final minute. After a series of incompletions set up a 4th-and-goal situation at the Irish 11, Reed took his shot to the end zone. Tight end Nate Boerkircher pulled down a contested catch, ultimately winning the game for the Aggies 41-40.
“We need to focus on getting ready for the next game,” head coach Marcus Freeman said in the postgame press conference.
The Irish will face off against Purdue this Saturday, Sept. 20 at 3:30 p.m.
