Aggies stun Irish 41-40 in absolute thriller

SOUTH BEND, IND. — They say ghosts roam Notre Dame Stadium. The spirits of legends from years past make their presence felt at opportune moments for the Fighting Irish to guide them to victory. But on Saturday night, the Spirit of Aggieland was just a little bit stronger.

“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 do that on the road in South Bend at night, against the team that was obviously desperate to save their season tonight, I just think it’s the step that we had to take to move forward,” coach Mike Elko said.

Marcel Reed threw for 360 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner to tight end Nate Boerkircher with 13 seconds remaining as No. 16 Texas A&M (3-0) stunned No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 — and beat the spirits in the process.

“I couldn’t even see the ball because it was in the lights,” Boerkircher said. “I was blinded by those lights, and I saw it, you know, right before I got to my hands … it just disappeared.”

Boerkircher saw it with enough time to jump and grab it over linebacker Drayk Bowen, scoring a touchdown that will likely go down in Aggie lore. It was just the second touchdown of Boerkircher’s career and his only catch of the night.

The touchdown came on what truly was A&M’s last gasp. Facing 4th and goal at the Notre Dame 11, Reed moved to his left to avoid pressure, pulled the ball down when primary target KC Concepcion was covered, reset and lobbed the ball to Boerkircher. 

“He has arguably the best hands on the team, so I threw the ball into him, and he caught it,” Reed said after the game.

Boerkircher’s catch was the last wild play in a game filled with them, and the Aggies had to pick themselves up off the mat almost immediately. After a short four-play drive to start the game, A&M punter Tyler White had his punt attempt blocked by Notre Dame defensive end Loghan Thomas, and safety Tae Johnson picked it up and returned it 20 yards for a score. A&M found itself down just 1:54 into the game without the Irish offense having touched the ball.

Notre Dame forced a quick 3 and out, then started pounding away at A&M with the running game. But on 3rd and 1 at midfield, defensive tackle DJ Hicks blew through the Irish front line and stuffed Jeremiyah Love (23 carries, 94 yards, 1 TD) for a loss of 5, forcing a punt. 

Even though Reed and the Aggies had looked rattled on their first two possessions, they changed their fortune with one massive haymaker. Reed found receiver Mario Craver (7 catches, 207 yards, 1 TD) for a first down and more, but it looked like the Irish had him stopped at midfield. Instead, he spun through three Notre Dame defensive backs and sprinted down the sideline for an 86-yard touchdown. 

“I don’t know how he stayed up, but that was crazy. I was like, I was trying to look over the next play and then I see him still up,” Reed said. “That guy is freaky.”

From there, the game turned into a track meet, with both teams moving the ball almost at will.

Notre Dame responded on their next possession with a touchdown of their own, aided by a personal foul on A&M cornerback Dezz Ricks, who shoved Love well out of bounds after a run for no gain on 2nd and 10 at the Notre Dame 37. Quarterback CJ Carr (20-32, 293 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) found wide open tight end Eli Raridon (4 catches, 85 yards) for a 43-yard gain. Running back Jadarian Price (12 carries, 68 yards, 2 TD) scored from 7 yards out two plays later to make the score 14-7.

Reed made his only real mistake of the game on A&M’s next possession, throwing a deep lob down the sideline to Ashton Bethel-Roman that Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore picked  off at the Aggie 42. The Irish would move the ball down to the A&M 4, but would settle for a chip shot field goal from Noah Burnette.

A&M responded quickly, with Reed finding Concepcion (4 catches, 82 yards) for completions of 17 and 45 yards to set up running back Le’Veon Moss for a 1-yard run. It would only take Notre Dame six plays to go 75 yards and score again, with a wide open Love catching a 36-yard pass from Carr on a wheel route with no A&M defenders in the area.

The Aggies hit back again on their next possession, with Reed finding Craver for 11 and 21 yards, running for 14 more and then finding running back Rueben Owens (3 carries, 5 yards) on a wheel route of their own for a 24-yard completion down to the Notre Dame 2. Moss would score three players later to cut the Irish lead back to 3 at 24-21.

Notre Dame would not score on their next drive. Instead, they turned it over, with Carr throwing a pass over the middle that was tipped by defensive tackle Albert Regis and intercepted by linebacker Scooby Williams on what would be his last play of the game. 

The Aggies took over at the Fighting Irish 47, and Reed immediately hooked up with Craver on a 31-yard reception over the middle of the field. Moss would eventually punch it in from a yard out, making him the first Aggie running back to score three touchdowns in a quarter in at least the last 35 years.

The game took on a more somber tone on Notre Dame’s next drive, when Raridon leapt to catch a pass at the A&M 43 and was hit immediately by safety Bryce Anderson. Anderson crumpled to the ground immediately and did not move. Anderson was eventually put on a stretcher and taken off on a cart, but gave a Gig ‘em thumbs up as he departed. 

After the delay, A&M’s defense stiffened, with linebacker Daymion Sanford picking up a sack of Carr on 3rd and 5 at the Aggie 43. Notre Dame would decide to go for it with 15 seconds left on the clock, but a bad snap flew over Love’s head as he played wildcat quarterback and ended up being an 11-yard loss in Irish territory. The Aggies would get 11 yards from Moss on a quick run with 5 seconds left, but Randy Bond missed from 52 yards to end the half.

Neither team scored on their first possessions of the second half, but Notre Dame was able to pin the Aggies on their 1 after a 47-yard punt by James Rendell. The Aggies couldn’t move the ball out of the shadow of their end zone, and White hit a low line drive punt that Jordan Faison returned to the A&M 29. Five plays later, Price ran off left tackle almost untouched for a 17-yard touchdown to put the Irish back in front.

The Aggies would kick a pair of field goals while Notre Dame added one of their own to tie the game at 34 with 9:06 remaining. The Irish then went on a 12-play, 75-yard drive that lasted 6:13 and ended with Love scoring from 12 yards out with 2:53 to go in the game. But Notre Dame botched the extra point, making the lead 40-34 and leaving the door open for A&M to win in regulation.

It looked like the Aggies had responded immediately, with Terry Bussey returning the kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, only to have it negated by a holding call on tight end Theo Ohrstrom. Unfazed, Reed and the Aggie offense went to work. 

After being held in check for most of the second half, Craver got loose over the middle for a 34-yard gain that moved the Aggies into Notre Dame territory at the two-minute timeout. A&M moved the ball down to the Irish 10, but two penalties in a row made it 2nd and goal at the 20. It looked like the Aggies were down to their last gasp after a 3rd and goal pass on the 16 fell incomplete, but a defensive holding call on cornerback Christian Gray gave A&M new life and setting Boerkircher up for his heroics.

The actual game-winning point came off the foot of Bond, who won back his kicking job this week and hit a 46- and 45-yard field goal to keep the Aggies even with the Irish in the second half.

“I don’t know that that thing went to script in any way, shape or form,” Elko said. “We battled through a blocked punt. We battled through some procedure penalties. We battled through coverage busts that created some open explosives for them, and we just kept fighting.”