Well friends, after an annoyingly long break between Game #1 and Game #2 for our Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, Marcus Freeman and co. are back at it again this weekend, facing another top-20 opponent as they try to bounce back from the disappointing performance in their 27-24 loss at Miami on Sunday of Labor Day Weekend.
The 0-1, 8th-ranked Irish will host this time, inviting the 2-0, 16th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies to town for just the second time in the history of this series (the other
being a 24-10 Irish win in South Bend in 2000, with an Irish offense featuring Arnaz Battle at QB and Julius Jones at running back). The Aggies have made nearly identical work of their first two opponents, topping the UTSA Roadrunners 42-24 in Week 1 and then beating the Utah State Aggies 44-22 last weekend.
Needless to say, we know this A&M team has lots of talent and a pretty darn good head coach in Mike Elko, but what do those first two games against not-great competition even tell us about them as an opponent? The Irish may have disappointed against the Hurricanes, but there’s no question that they prove a much tougher test than UTSA and Utah State. How will these two teams match up, and which key players and strategic tendencies should Irish fans be on the lookout for in this one?
To get a better idea of all of that (and more), I once again reached out to Robert Behrens, the Managing Editor over at Good Bull Hunting (SB Nation’s Texas A&M site) whom many of you probably will remember from his delightful Q&A leading up to the 2024 season opener in College Station. Robert answered a wide array of questions here, giving us insight into how Aggie fans feel about Elko in Year 2, what makes Marcel Reed dangerous (and what ND can do to stop him), how good this Aggie defense is, whether or not Texas A&M is a cult, and MULTIPLE questions about Manti Te’o/Johnny Manziel and their 2012 Heisman race.
There’s some great stuff in here, so make sure you devour every word and prepare yourselves for yet another stressful top-25 matchup for our Irish here in the early going of the season, with this one feeling much more like a “must-win” than that Miami tilt.
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1. Alright, let’s start at the top — Mike Elko went 8-5 in Year One, and now has the Aggies 2-0 and ranked 16th here in the early going of Year Two.
Are Aggie fans still fully on-board in believing he’s the right guy to take them to the Playoff and beyond, or are there any doubts after the way they dropped some big games down the stretch at the end of last year (even though it was Year 1 for Elko)?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: It really is a shame how last season played out, because taken in totality, it should be viewed as a solid first season at Texas A&M for Mike Elko, but when you start 7-1 and finish 8-5, it’s hard for that to not leave a bad taste in fans’ mouths.
I certainly don’t know anyone who is “out” on Mike Elko at this point, as that would be beyond premature. He seems to have brought in a good support staff, understands how a modern college football program should operate, and has recruited at a high level. But I do think many Aggies are also in a “I’ll believe it when I see it” mode, especially given the relatively low level of competition to begin the year. Notre Dame is far from a must-win for Elko and this A&M team, but it’s a massive litmus test for the progress this program is making.
2. Marcel Reed hadn’t yet taken over the starting job when these two teams met last year, so please fill Irish fans in on what to expect from him on Saturday. What does he do well and how can ND contain him and/or force him to make some mistakes?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: The aspect of Marcel’s game that jumps out the most is his legs, as he is good at evading pressure and has good straight-line speed. And while he is more than just an athlete playing quarterback, there were times last year where he seemed to struggle to get through his progressions and find the open receiver. That is something that early evidence seems to indicate he has improved upon in his second season in OC Collin Klein’s offense, and that has no doubt been helped by an influx of talent at WR via the portal (more on that later).
But all of that will be put to the test on Saturday against what will easily be the best defense the Aggies have faced yet this season. Reed does have a penchant for getting sped up at times, and has taken a drive or two to settle in in each of his first two games. He may not have that luxury in South Bend.
3. The Aggies did some work in the portal during the off-season — who were the biggest additions that Notre Dame needs to worry about this weekend? Were there any holes they didn’t do a great job of backfilling with portal guys or ready-to-play freshmen?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: Certainly the biggest names to know from a portal perspective at A&M are wide receivers Mario Craver (Mississippi State) and KC Concepcion (NC State). Through two games, they have proven to be far and away A&M’s biggest pass-catching weapons, combining for 22 receptions, 381 yards and 6 touchdowns in just two games. Concepcion also returns punts (and took one back for a TD in the season-opener). Neither has elite size, but both have ridiculous burst and look very dangerous with the ball in their hands.
Regarding holes, I think one of the bigger question marks for this team remains the interior defensive line. Upperclassmen Albert Regis and D.J. Hicks headline that group, along with Iowa State transfer Tyler Onyedim, but the group overall is a bit undersized.
It wasn’t an issue against Utah State, but UTSA RB Robert Henry had success against this A&M defense, so it’s fair to worry what damage Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price might be able to inflict.
4. What can we expect in terms of strengths and weaknesses from this iteration of the Aggie defense? Which players are the stars to know about?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: The A&M defense is somewhat hard to figure out thus far. Even if you remove the points scored against the backups in garbage time, this team has given up 15.5 points per game against two teams that don’t strike fear in many people’s hearts. But at the same time, they’re No. 2 nationally in forced punts with 17 (11 of those 17 being 3-and-outs). So essentially you’ll either get completely shut down or go on a long touchdown drive. But as always, it’s worth noting that the defense likely stayed a bit more vanilla that what we’ll see in South Bend.
I think the strength of the defense comes in the form of linebackers Taurean York and Scooby Williams. York in particular is a third-year starter and team captain who led the team in tackles last season (and continues to do so this season). He won’t wow you with athleticism, but is just a guy who seems to always be where he’s supposed to be.
I do think that the biggest weakness of a year ago (the secondary), seems to be improved, if not completely solved. But as has been a common theme in this article, we’re about to find out a lot more about this group in a few days’ time.
4a. Is there any worry after the UTSA season opener (Roadrunners ran for 203 yards and 2 TDs on 6.2 YPC) that teams with a good running game could really gash this Aggie defense on the ground? Like, hypothetically, teams that feature guys like Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in their backfield?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: I was worried until Notre Dame showed in the season-opener that they aren’t particularly interested in getting the ball to those guys.
KIDDING!
But yes, I think that’s a fair concern for A&M fans to have, and I’m sure something Notre Dame will put to the test. A&M stifled Utah State on the ground (but that shouldn’t be all that difficult) and considering that UTSA’s Henry went off again this past weekend and currently leads the country in rushing, maybe he’s just that dude. At least that’s what we’re pinning our hopes on.
5. A lot of people outside the A&M community refer to the Aggies program/fans/culture as a “cult.” Do you guys love that and lean into it, or does that rub you the wrong way?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: We 100% are a cult. We have chants that the average person can’t understand, we go through rituals primarily because that’s how they’ve been done for generations, and wear outfits that some consider weird and outdated. Wait, are we catholic???
6. FAN QUESTION:
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: The difference between Aggies and farmers is like the difference between Champagne and sparkling white wine.
Then again, one of our yells is called “Farmers Fight,” so maybe there isn’t a difference after all?
7. FAN QUESTION:
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: I can admit with 100% certainty that Manti Teo had a better 2012 season Netflix documentary than Johnny Manziel.
8. Follow-up Question from Pat: If Manti and Johnny Football were to switch teams and positions so that Manti was quarterbacking the 2012 Aggies offense and Johnny was middle linebacker on Bob Diaco’s 2012 Irish defense, who has the better season and the best chance to win Heisman in that scenario?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: Collin Klein. Either way, we still claim a Heisman winner.
9. Alright, let’s get down to it — who wins this game on Saturday, what’s the final score, and how does it happen?
Robert Behrens, Good Bull Hunting: I spoke earlier about how many Aggies are in a “wait and see” mode, and I consider myself staunchly in that camp. This team hasn’t won a road game against a ranked team in over a decade, so it’s hard to predict that outcome, and while the Ags are 2-0, those performances have been enough of a mixed bag that it’s hard to imagine anyone outside of the A&M football complex walking into this game with an overwhelming amount of confidence.
Notre Dame showed in Week 1 that they are not a complete team at this point either, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see A&M elevate their game to the level of their opponent and walk away with the W, but perhaps even more likely is that the issues that we saw in the first couple of games (and some dating back to last season), continue to rear their ugly head.
I do think Notre Dame will look to establish the run game, and I think they’ll have success. They’ll control the clock and limit opportunities for the A&M offense, and ultimately the Irish walk away with this one with a 24-20 win. Pain ensues.
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Alright, y’all — I wanna give a gargantuan, College-Station-cult-sized shout-out to Robert for all his excellent answers and information on this A&M program/team/fandom as we head into this massive game. I highly encourage you all to head over to Good Bull Hunting to check out a ton of superb coverage they have going on over there leading up to this contest…and once again, you maaaaaaay just find a Q&A with yours truly as a special treat.
Furthermore, definitely give their site Twitter a follow, as well as Robert — I followed both a year ago and have been so happy to have continued to do so, as they provide plenty of excellent chatter about the Aggies but also about college football in general, which is always welcome in these troubling times.
That’s it for this week, friends — per usual, GO IRISH, BEAT AGGIES!
