Breaking down takeaways and implications from Notre Dame’s loss to Texas A&M

Notre Dame has stumbled into uncharted territory. The Fighting Irish have dropped to No. 24 with a winless, 0-2 record. The very chip Notre Dame had once carried on its shoulder is now dormant. Texas A&M did exactly what no one saw coming—handing Notre Dame another loss—in South Bend. 

Saturday night did not disappoint. The sounds, atmosphere, and energy that poured out of Notre Dame Stadium gave all viewers tuned into NBC a great show. It was the No. 8 Irish going up against the No. 16 Aggies in what is a new-fashioned college football rivalry. 

The result displayed a stunning 41-40 upset. Yes, very high scoring. And how we got that…WELL, it was quite the lead-up. There were so many takeaways and implications that I believe can set the stage for the rest of the season. After watching the game back, here is a look at my thoughts. 

A&M Wonderland

It starts with Texas A&M. Many are going to look at this game and point to Notre Dame as the top story, but ultimately, this boils down to the Aggies. Texas A&M is now ranked 10th in the nation, and it’s safe to say Mike Elko’s squad is a legitimate contender in the smashmouth SEC.

November 8, 2014 – That is the last time Texas A&M defeated a ranked opponent on the road. It has been over a decade, and the curse is finally over. Marcel Reed, Le’Veon Moss, Mario Craver, and KC Concepcion were the difference makers in this one. 

I am not sure that there is an offense that has looked more explosive than Texas A&M. This was a team that put up 41 points on the road, as well as nearly 500 yards of total offense. When you take a step back and evaluate the Aggies this year compared to last, it comes down to the weapons. Marcel Reed was good. He made a couple of mistakes, especially early on, but he never stopped taking chances, which created massive plays and opened the field. 

Reed excelled at picking apart the Irish zone defense, and it left Chris Ash scrambling. I was impressed by his ability to make plays out of the pocket and find the gaps in tight windows. Not to mention, the offensive line held up extremely well against a stellar Irish defensive front. It is in these games where you learn what your team is really made of, and the offensive growth with Marcel Reed was exceptional. 

The offense was largely generated by the receivers, who, this year, look much more refined and polished. Reed did not have to put it on the money, but anything in the vicinity of Craver or Concepcion was going to be a completion. This offense just found a way to hang in there and wear down Notre Dame’s defense when this became a shootout. 

Whether it was a massive 86-yard touchdown by Mario Craver or three different short rushing touchdowns by Le’Veon Moss, the Aggies were coming at Notre Dame from multiple different angles and found ways to deliver.

ND Defense looking like a deer in headlights

Now, the good stuff. The most alarming, glaring disappointment for Notre Dame comes on the defensive side of the ball. In what was an anticipated meeting, following the loss to Miami, this was a great opportunity for the defense to reestablish itself and get back on its feet. 

As you can tell by the score, that did not happen. In fact, it got ten times worse, and there are large reasons to be concerned if you are an Irish fan. The panic meter is high for me, but optimistic. Frankly, I cannot see a scenario for the rest of the season where Notre Dame is worse than they were on Saturday night. 

Firstly, the secondary was bad. Just to be as straightforward as it gets, this secondary was flat-out bad against both Miami and Texas A&M. That is two straight games now. Listen, I get it, these are two of the most dynamic offenses in college football, but when we compare to last season, it’s hard to see past the fact that an Al Golden-led defense would be allowing 41 points in a game. And yes, that starts in the secondary, as it allowed 360 passing yards. 

We knew going into the season that Notre Dame would be thin at the cornerback position, but even with the starters, the Irish have failed to execute on that end. Leonard Moore has looked good thus far; on the other hand, Christian Gray has had a rocky start. I want to point out A&M’s first touchdown of the game to emphasize the importance of tackling in the secondary and pursuit. 

It was evident that if Notre Dame was going to defeat the speed of Texas A&M’s receivers, the secondary had to utilize physicality. The play above had me seriously questioning what happened in the offseason to Christian Gray. I am not excusing Jalen Stroman getting absolutely torched, which happened numerous times in this game, but the pursuit is just horrific. That is a tackle that Stroman should have made, especially with the assistance of Christian Gray. But cmon, if Gray actually attempts to tackle, this play is not an 86-yard touchdown.

And that is not the first time Gray had made a mistake like that. He seemed continuously lost in these zone formations that Chris Ash was running, and you can see guys like Karson Hobbs trying to communicate with Gray, who was not on the same page.

As one of the veteran leaders in the secondary, this sort of stuff cannot be happening. Gray also had a holding penalty that would set up the final touchdown to win the game. The chaos ensues with implosions, and much of the reason that Notre Dame is 0-2 is because they have continuously beaten themselves. Moreover, all this calls for concern when you are rolling out true freshmen like Mark Zackery to line up against some of the best receivers in the country. It’s no surprise that Notre Dame has been allowing these utterly massive touchdowns when the defense is failing to make the right reads. 

Quite simply, this defense has undoubtedly struggled, and it might be too early to distribute the blame. The stats, however, are not pretty. Last season, the Irish were +18 in turnover margin; this year, they are -2. Last season, Notre Dame was +114 in points off turnovers margin (the best in the FBS by 30 points); this year, they are -7. Stats via Greg McElroy on Always College Football 

That is a scary drop off for a team that has much higher expectations. Although if you are really watching these games, this is no shocker. Notre Dame has notably looked worse on the defensive end. As mentioned, Marcel Reed was good. He was not great. Yet, the Aggies still found a way to outscore the Irish and win with a 46% (17-37) completion rate and what should have been multiple interceptions. 

No Riley Leonard on short yardage sets 

The one encouraging observation to be made from both of Notre Dame’s games is the offense. This might not be as much in the Miami game, but against Texas A&M, which is a relatively solid defense, the Irish played well. 

If it wasn’t for a botched hold, the Irish likely would have matched Texas A&M’s 41-point stat line, but that is a different story. For now, I’m focusing on the analytical side of things. Overall, this was a solid performance in both the passing and rushing departments. 

CJ Carr is continuing to progress at a satisfactory rate. He looks like the future in South Bend and presents a spark in the passing game that Notre Dame has not had in quite some time. Unfortunately, he does not have the one great value that Riley Leonard had, and that is the rushing ability.  

It was Mike Denbrock’s bread and butter. If the offense found itself in a fourth-and-short situation, it was going to be a QB-draw straight up the gut. This was practically the saving grace of Notre Dame to march its way into the National Championship. We all remember that opening drive against Ohio State where Leonard rushed nearly every play until he found his way into the end zone. That very scheme would become the identity of the offense. Now, it is quite the opposite. 

There has been vast excitement surrounding CJ Carr since the day he enrolled at Notre Dame. After waiting a year behind Leonard, he is finally getting his time to shine, but the system this year has resulted in many third or fourth-down failures. 

When it comes to converting on short yardage sets, it is a must. Notre Dame has been lost in how to approach these play calls, with most of the reliance falling on Jeremiyah Love to rush it up the middle. Similar to what we saw with Leonard, Love is taking direct snaps out of the backfield. 

In this clip, Love’s rush worked to perfection, but that was not the case in the third quarter and against Miami. Love was stuffed after trying to bounce to the outside with nowhere to go.

I think that is an area that both Freeman and Denbrock will need to figure out moving forward. Outside of that, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price both had very strong bounce-backs following the Miami game. The Irish rushed for 147 yards, Love’s 94 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns (1 receiving), and Price’s 68 yards and 2 touchdowns propelled the Irish offense. 

CJ Carr had 3 rushes for -15 yards. So yes, he is not Riley Leonard. There is real reason to believe in the Irish pass attack and the offense as a whole, which has looked good thus far. Eli Raidon has been a great option over the middle for CJ Carr. Malachi Fields has become one of Carr’s favorite targets as well. I would like to see Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison be more involved, and I would expect the passing game to really open up in the coming weeks.

Just remember…

Notre Dame is in a very big hole. Maybe not as big as Clemson’s, but it is never fun to start 0-2, regardless of where the losses came from. 

Many are pointing to Notre Dame’s weaker schedule as a reason to believe their Playoff hopes are over. However, last year the Irish lost to NIU at home, and somehow ended up playing in the national title game. This is another very good team that Notre Dame lost to, and definitely could have beaten. 

The difference between a winning and losing record is four points. Both games have come down to the very last play, and Notre Dame has remained competitive through all eight quarters of their season. Additionally, I believe the sky is the limit for this Texas A&M team. 

The Irish have some rethinking to do, but there is no reason to wave the white flag, two games in, with the rest of their schedule in front of them.