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Game #3: No. 16 Texas A&M 41, No. 8 Notre Dame 40
Records: Texas A&M (3-0, 0-0), Notre Dame (0-2)
Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Some football plays — and the people involved in them — become part of a college team’s historical lore. They’re relived over and over for years to come.
A peek into the future would show Aggies still raising longnecks at the Dixie Chicken to toast Marcel Reed’s fourth-down pass to Nate Boerkircher in the final seconds to lift No. 16 Texas A&M (3-0) to a 41-40 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame (0-2).
That happened on Saturday night on the hallowed grounds of Notre Dame Stadium against the same Irish program that won one for the Gipper and for which the Four Horsemen once rode again.
There was no magic luck of the Irish. There was no mischievous Leprechaun to save Notre Dame. There was only Boerkircher’s massive hands securing the football in the end zone with just 13 seconds remaining.
“I was just telling the guys the ball was there, but I couldn’t even see it because of the (stadium) lights. I was blinded by the lights. I saw it, you know, right before it got into my hands. Luckily, it was a great ball. It just appeared.”
- Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher
The magic was all from Texas A&M in a now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t moment that will endure in A&M lore like Kendrick Rogers’ winning catch vs. LSU, Deshazor Everett’s interception vs. Alabama and Greg Porter’s catch in the back of the end zone vs. Oklahoma.
A&M ended a 14-game losing streak in road games vs. ranked opponents by overcoming a flood of miscues and near-misses.
The Aggies did so with Reed, who became a bona fide Heisman candidate, throwing to a transfer who’d previously caught one touchdown pass in his college career.
“I was just telling the guys the ball was there, but I couldn’t even see it because of the (stadium) lights,” Boerkircher said after the game. “I was blinded by the lights. I saw it, you know, right before it got into my hands. Luckily, it was a great ball. It just appeared.”
Even more luckily, the play wasn’t supposed to go to him. But Reed saw a physical advantage with 6-foot-2, 230-pound Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen covering the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Boerkircher.
“So it really wasn’t (for Boerkircher). It was for KC (Concepcion),” Reed said of the game-winning play call. “But they happened to end up in a one-on-one matchup against the ‘backer, so I threw the ball up to him. He’s a big guy who has the best hands on the team.
"I told him I love him. I told him he caught a big one.”
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Marcel Reed’s 397 yards of total offense is a career high for the sophomore who passed for 360 yards.
It was a big one that did not get away. So many times in its dubious streak, A&M came painfully close to pulling off monumental victories only to fall short.
But the team that so often found ways to lose finally found a way to win.
“I think when you want to become a championship team — we’re not; there’s a lot of work to do — there’s going to be moments like this where your guys just find a way to compete and battle through,” A&M head coach Mike Elko said. “It’s been well documented how long it’s been since this program has gone on the road and beat a really good team. For us to go on the road in South Bend at night against a team that was obviously desperate to save their season...
“I just think it’s a step that we had to take to move forward. That’s all we did. One step forward tonight.”
Maybe more like a giant leap.
This is the type of victory that can propel a team to greater heights.
The Aggies demonstrated explosive offense. They rolled up 488 total yards. Reed, who passed for 360 yards and two touchdowns, averaged 21.2 yards per completion.
More importantly, they showed an incredible resilience to shake off a series of bad breaks that would break the backs of lesser teams.
In the first half alone, Notre Dame scored 10 points off turnovers. The Irish got another touchdown on a blocked punt. A complete failure to cover the wheel route resulted in a 36-yard Jeremiyah Love touchdown catch, which gave Notre Dame a 24-14 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
But the Aggies never panicked. Reed responded to Love’s touchdowns by leading a drive for one of Le’Veon Moss’ three scoring runs.
Then, A&M’s defense made its biggest play of the half.
Albert Regis deflected a CJ Carr pass. The ball then ricocheted off the hands of running back Jadarian Price. A&M linebacker Scooby Williams hauled in an interception at the Notre Dame 47-yard line.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Through three games, transfer wideout Mario Craver has 443 receiving yards.
Reed immediately hit Mario Craver for a 31-yard gain. That led to another Moss score. Somehow, A&M, which started frighteningly slow, led 28-24 at halftime.
There was much more stress. Safety Bryce Anderson suffered a scary injury. He was taken from the game on a stretcher. Williams was also hurt and didn’t play in the second half.
And in the second half, an A&M punt from the 3-yard line gave Notre Dame a short field. The Irish capitalized with a touchdown to regain the lead.
Every time Notre Dame threatened to pull away, A&M made the plays to stay in contention.
Still, it seemed like the Aggies would come up short on the road again when Love scored a touchdown with 2:53 left to put Notre Dame ahead, 40-34.
A&M’s Terry Bussey returned the kickoff for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back because of a holding penalty.
Undaunted, Reed led the Aggies downfield. He passed to Craver for 35 of the 207 receiving yards Craver accumulated on Saturday night.
Reed also scrambled for another first down.
Yet, after a short gain and two completions, the Aggies faced fourth-and-goal from the 11-yard line.
That’s when Reed found Boerkircher in the end zone for a victorious touchdown that will always endure in A&M football history.
