COLLEGE STATION, Texas — No. 20 Texas A&M had the same opportunity as No. 7 Notre Dame in the fourth quarter.
With the game tied at 13 and time melting away midway through the final quarter of both teams’ 2024 season opener, the Aggies took over possession at their own 15-yard line at home in Kyle Field.
Texas A&M went three-and-out.
When Notre Dame took over on its own 15-yard line for the ensuing drive, the Irish went down the field with an eight-play, game-winning touchdown drive in a 23-13 victory on Saturday night.
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A late Notre Dame field goal by Mitch Jeter following a turnover on downs for A&M sealed an important road win to start head coach Marcus Freeman’s third season leading the Irish program. Whether this road win is more impressive than Notre Dame’s 21-14 win over No. 17 Duke last September will likely be influenced by how the season plays out for Notre Dame and Texas A&M.
But this win over head coach Mike Elko, who was leading the Blue Devils last season, comes with SEC prestige.
“That’s an environment that I’m sure none of us have really ever played in before,” said Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, who was on the losing end of last year’s ND-Duke game. “The SEC’s different. Coming down here in Texas is different.
“I remember looking up and trying to see the end of the stands, and you literally can’t even see the top. Incredible place to play. Very grateful for the outcome, obviously. I love these guys.”
Leonard and the Notre Dame offense stepped up in the biggest moment Saturday night immediately after A&M faltered. The Aggies mustered only nine yards in three plays with a third-down attempt stopped just short as running back Le’Veon Moss ran out of bounds short of the first-down marker after catching a pass near the line to gain.
Notre Dame wasn’t going to make a mistake like that.
“The last drive everybody had all the confidence in the world we were going to be able to go down there and score,” Leonard said. “It was just a matter of when. Finally, by the fourth quarter we kind of got things going, and that last drive meant a lot to us.”
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On the first play of Notre Dame’s drive, which began with 6:23 remaining in regulation, Leonard gained nine yards himself. He bounced and spun forward for a nice gain on a read-option keeper. But Leonard had to convert a third-and-5 after running back Jeremiyah Love was slowed by defensive end Nic Scourton in the backfield for a four-yard loss.
Notre Dame wide receiver Jaden Greathouse did what Moss failed to do. He caught the ball on an out-breaking route near the first-down marker and continued upfield for a nine-yard gain. It was the last third down Notre Dame had to convert on the night and only the second conversion in what ended up being 12 opportunities.
The Irish proceeded to pick up first downs on each of the next three plays. Wide receiver Beaux Collins made an incredible catch near the sideline for a 20-yard gain with cornerback Will Lee III in tight coverage. Collins, a graduate transfer from Clemson, finished with a team-high five catches for 62 yards in his Notre Dame debut.
“You just got to throw the ball up to the dude,” Leonard said of Collins. “And I was just trying to be too cute and throw a back shoulder earlier. By the end of that last drive, I was like, ‘Shoot, I’m just going to throw the ball up and let him make a play.’ And he did.
“That was an extremely pivotal moment in the football game. When it matters most, just throw it up to Beaux.”
The details of Notre Dame’s game-winning drive mattered too. On the next play, Leonard ran left for an 11-yard gain. But rather than letting himself get pushed out of bounds, he made sure to get a knee down to keep the clock running.
“I got a lot of confidence in a guy like Riley Leonard at the end of the game,” Freeman said. “Put the ball in his hands, he’ll make good decisions and lead this offense to victory.”
Then Love made the first of his two big runs on the drive. On first-and-10 from the A&M 40, Love ran through a near tackle by linebacker Taurean York and made safety Bryce Anderson miss on his way to an 18-yard gain.
Notre Dame’s first-down streak ended when Love couldn’t find much room to run on the next play. When he went down after one yard, Texas A&M could have taken a timeout with 2:32 left in the quarter. But Elko opted to let the clock run down to the two-minute warning.
Love provided the dagger for Notre Dame when the game resumed. With nine A&M defenders lined up in the box at the snap, Love managed to find a crease in the middle of Notre Dame’s two tight end set and escaped for a 21-yard touchdown with 1:54 left in the game.
Love followed a lead block from tight end Cooper Flanagan pushing to the left and down blocks to the right from left guard Sam Pendleton and center Ashton Craig. Love did the rest in a sprint to the end zone.
Much like running back Audric Estimé could have done on his 30-yard game-winning touchdown run in the final minute of last year’s Duke victory, Love finished in the end zone rather than going down short to help drain more clock in a tie game.
“I didn’t want to take points off the board,” Freeman said. “The analytics will probably tell you to go down.”
Freeman brought offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock back to Notre Dame this offseason to help the Irish put up points against tough defenses. The Irish offense will likely have many better statistical nights than the 356 yards and 23 points in this year’s debut, but to do so against a tough defense with an inexperienced offensive line should allow the result to be graded on a curve.
When Notre Dame needed a touchdown drive, it leaned on many sources in those critical moments.
“It’s rewarding,” Freeman said. “A lot of work went into this first game from a lot of different people. To have it go the way it did, you say it’s going to be a four-quarter game, it’s going to come down to the last minute, but it’s never fun when it goes that way. I’m proud of how we finished.”
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