Josh Pate discusses implications of Texas A&M-Notre Dame matchup

Key notes from Josh Pate interview

• All of A&M's road games, if they win... People may be hesitant to say this is the biggest Aggie road win ever. With Mike Elko trying to establish a new standard, trying to announce our arrival on the national stage and establish an identity, against a desperate Notre Dame team, in South Bend... It doesn’t get much bigger than that. You are not going to get a ton of results that are as impactful as that. But afterwards, it may be one of the biggest A&M road victories.
   
• We talked for months. But one afternoon of football is worth more than six months of talking. Four quarters, three and a half hours, are more important than what we discussed for months. That game is going to come down to a few key drives, a couple of moments. A team’s destiny is defined by a couple of key moments. We spend our entire year talking about it. That is why it feels the way it feels. We play 12 games, but just about none of those 12 will feel like it feels in this game.
   
• Everyone should get a ticket to that game because it is as special a place as you will ever visit. It is my No. 1 place to go in all of college football. To go to a game at Notre Dame and the weather is what it should be, low humidity... Just get there early, soak it in, look at the Maroon and Green mixtures of colors on campus, it is like a movie.
   
• It doesn’t matter what Marcel Reed has done to some people because they haven’t played anybody. That will change this weekend. John Mateer had his shot last weekend. Now, everyone is talking about him. Arch Manning had his shot in Week 1 and lost. People are still talking about him. You could lose or win, but with defense, you win, and he is the face of the win. If that third option happens, that is when the national level starts talking about him. ESPN, power ratings, and more will start raising him up.
   
• How can you not recognize Mario Craver and KC Concepcion? Certain people in the A&M program were lighting up my phone this past weekend. Three sacks in a row is what I see. You will remember that about a month ago, I did a segment on breakout players. I had a few different candidates. You said to go with Cashius Howell, and I went with him. David Nuño has given me a take that has aged really nicely. Nationally, no one was shouting his name. So I did it, and everybody thinks I am a genius. I just have to commend you, David. If one of us doesn’t get credit for it on the field, then did it even happen?
   
• If we look forward, I just watched Rueben Bain Jr. terrorize Notre Dame in Week 1. There aren’t a lot of those talents out there, but Notre Dame is facing a game wrecker this weekend, like they did in Week 1 in Howell. This guy can embarrass you if you are not careful. All the talk is about Reed, Craver, Concepcion and the running game. Might we see Howell be the one to take things over?
   
• I think about Ohio State going to Penn State. The offense didn’t do that much, but they scored 21 defensive points because JT Tuimoloau took the game over. What if A&M wins this weekend, and it is like that? Notre Dame has no answer for him, like they did against Miami.
   
• You have to earn the right to rush the passer. We’ve said that before with A&M. You had a good pass rush a decade ago. It is the name of the game. Anytime, anyone plays Notre Dame or even A&M, you need to have your quarterback get the ball out before the pass rusher gets to him. You try to build this in camp and spring. To force third-and-five situations, it doesn't matter where you are playing. You are set up to change the game.
   
• Norman was pretty incredible. We did Iowa vs. Iowa State in the morning. We went to Norman for the Michigan game. It was what all the folks wanted the Tennessee game to be last year. Mateer is a star. All of the things that happened in the game... Oklahoma was in minus two in turnovers, multiple critical special teams errors, outside of the quarterback, ran the ball at like three yards per carry, and Michigan had a big play touchdown. But Oklahoma controlled just about the whole game. There is still space to grow.
   
• Now, I am saying hold on just a second, we don’t know what Michigan is. You get Auburn at home next week. The second half of the season is tough. It is like running to your car when it is raining. You will get wet, you will get damaged, but just how much? I think they will be undefeated going into the Red River Rivalry game, and Texas would not be. It looks like it may happen. I am ready for it. There are a lot of comments against me. I heard them, but I am ready.
   
• Mateer has an unfair advantage because he has guys that he can throw the ball to. Outside of that, I still think very highly of Bryce Underwood. Being a true freshman on the road against Brent Venables, he just has no one to throw the ball to. It is not even fair to compare the two quarterbacks. Mateer has much more experience and more wide receivers. For Michigan, it is not time to mail the season in.