Can Texas A&M rebound and stay in the College Football Playoff mix?

The Texas A&M Aggies fell to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 23-13 at home in its season opener. The Aggies and the Irish put on a thriller, but now Mike Elko's team will need to make up a lot of ground in order to stay in the mix for the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

Elko, former head coach at Duke, made his debut after the Aggies bought out former head coach Jimbo Fisher to the tune of $75 million dollars. Elko led the Blue Devils to a 9-4 record in 2022 and a 7-5 campaign last season.

In fact, Elko won the ACC Coach of the Year award in 2022. The former Duke coach was brought to College Station to turn around a program that has largely underperformed in recent years.

Elko isn't the only one who didn't have a hot start to the season. Aggies quarterback Connor Weigman is back under center after having suffered a season-ending foot injury early last season.

Weigman had a less-than-stellar performance by having tossed for only 100 yards and zero touchdowns along with two interceptions.

The Aggies' offense struggled to move the ball throughout the night, but that can also be in large part due to the stout Notre Dame defense. The Irish held the struggling Aggies offense to 246 total yards and 3.6 yards per play, respectively.

Defensively, the Aggies struggled mightly against Notre Dame's rushing attack. Duke transfer quarterback Riley Leonard made his debut for the Irish and contributed only 158 passing yards, but accumulated 63 yards (5.3 yards per rush) on the ground.

Irish sophomore rusher Jeremiyah Love was undoubtedly the MVP of the game, as he rushed for 91 yards and scored a 21-yard touchdown run with 1:54 left in the game to give the Irish a 20-13 lead.

The Aggies had a chance to tie, but Weigman and the offense were halted on a fourth and short, which essentially put the game away in favor of the Irish. All in all, the Aggie offense's only touchdown came when rusher Le'Veon Moss scored on a 1-yard run in the second half.

Moreover, that's a testament to just how inept the Texas A&M offense performed.

Weigman absolutely must play better if the Aggies will have any chance to contend in a stacked Southeastern Conference. Texas A&M's run defense also cannot give up 198 total rushing yards again as the season progresses.

The Aggies will remain home to play McNeese St. next weekend. In the following weeks, the Aggies will then play the reeling Florida Gators, Bowling Green, Arkansas, and No.11 Missouri in perhaps a season-defining matchup.

Elko's unit should be favored throughout the next few weeks until they meet the Tigers on October 5th. Unfortunately, news broke that starting center Mark Nabou will be out the rest of the season after having torn his ACL.

Elko and the Aggies must tend to that huge void and regroup for the rest of the season.

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