What is the story about?
Well that was absolutely wild, the Aggies somewhat inexplicably found a way to win a 41-40 shootout with Notre Dame Saturday night in South Bend. In a game full of that many swings, it’s gonna be hard to capture what happened, simply by the numbers, but let’s give it a try
Salient Stats
- 1: Day since Texas A&M has defeated a ranked team on the road. Boy howdy was it nice to put that decade-plus streak to bed!
- 2: Fourth down stops. In a game where every possession felt massive, A&M stopping Notre Dame on 4th and short absolutely helped swing this game. The defense was not perfect, but they had moments that proved pivotal.
- 3.5: Yards per rush for the Irish. That number inflates a bit when you look at just Love and Price, but nonetheless, A&M did an admirable job against likely the best backs they’ll face all season. The run defense is not perfect, but it may not be as bad as some had feared.
- +6: On tackles for loss in this game. A&M logged eight while the Irish had only two. Those negative plays stopped several Notre Dame drives, while staying mostly ahead of the chains made for a big offensive day for A&M (though penalties changed some of that). Speaking of which…
- 13: Penalties on the Aggies, which is unacceptable. Some of the false starts are being attributed to Notre Dame defenders clapping, but there were plenty of other penalties that were simply a lack of focus. A&M was lucky to survive that sloppiness. Unfortunately that chair on the sideline did not.
- 13: Days until A&M’s next game. After such a physically and emotionally draining game, it feels like the bye week could not have come at a better time for the Aggies. Getting back up to play another game this coming Saturday would have felt ripe for a letdown spot.
- 20: Carries for Le’Veon Moss. After he seemed be eased in to begin the season after rehabbing from a major injury throughout the offseason, Moss was the unquestioned bellow back for the Ags in this one. Averaging 4.1 yards per carry and finding the end zone three times, his physical running set the tone for A&M and was a major factor in getting the dub.
- 87: Nate Boerkircher. This is just a shoutout for making a tough catch in an incredibly big moment. Still pinching myself that we actually pulled this game out.
207: Receiving yards for Mario Craver. He and KC Concepcion have transformed this A&M offense more
than anyone outside of the Bright Complex thought possible. He’ll continue to be a weapon other teams have to gameplan around in the weeks to come. Aggies have long prayed for outside threats like this. 3-0 BABY!
#BTHObyeweek!
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