Game preview: Texas A&M's Offense vs. Notre Dame's Defense
AggieYell.com’s look at the matchup between No. 16 Texas A&M (2-0) and No. 8 Notre Dame (0-1) begins with a breakdown of the Aggie offense against the Fighting Irish defense.
Where, when, weather and TV
Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
When: 6:30 p.m. central time, Saturday, Sept. 13
Weather: Clear, with temperatures dropping into the 60s during the game
TV: NBC (Play-by-play: Noah Eagle; Analyst: Todd Blackledge; Sideline reporter: Kathryn Tappen)
Texas A&M offensive depth chart
QB: #10, Marcel Reed; RS-So.; 6-1, 185
#16, Miles O’Neill; RS-Fr.; 6-5, 220
RB: #8, Le’Veon Moss; Sr.; 5’11, 210
#4, Rueben Owens; RS-So.; 5-11, 215 OR
#5, Amari Daniels; Sr.; 5-8, 197
TE: #17, Theo Melin Ohrstrom; RS-Jr.; 6-6, 257
#87, Nate Boerkircher; Gr.-TR.; 6-4, 250
WR (X): #3, Ashton Bethel-Roman; RS-Fr.; 6, 185
#2, Terry Bussey; So.; 5-10, 195
WR (SLOT): #1, Mario Craver; So.; 5-9, 165
#0, Izaiah Williams; RS-Fr.; 5-11, 185
WR (Z): #7, KC Concepcion; Jr.-TR.; 5-11, 190
#18, TK Norman; Fr.; 6, 182
LT: #60, Trey Zuhn; Sr.; 6-6, 319
#79, Lamont Rogers; Fr.; 6-6, 337
LG: #71, Chase Bisontis; Jr.; 6-5, 315
#52, Blake Ivy; RS-Fr.; 6-3, 336
C: #54, Mark Nabou; RS-So.; 6-4, 330
#61, Koli Faaiu; RS-Sr.-TR.; 6-3, 333
RG: #55, Ar’maj Reed-Adams; Gr.-TR.; 6-5, 325
#77, Tyler Thomas; Fr.; 6-4, 329
RT: #78, Dametrious Crownover; Gr.; 6-7, 336
#70, Robert Bourdon; RS-Fr.; 6-6, 315
Notre Dame defensive depth chart
VYPER: #5, Boubacar Traore; So.; 6-4, 250
#44, Junior Tuihalamaka; Sr.; 6-2, 255 OR #12, Jordan Botelho; Sr.; 6-3, 260
DT: #47, Jason Onye; Sr.; 6-5, 302
#97, Gabriel Rubio; Sr.; 6-5, 321
#42, Cole Mullins; Fr.; 6-5, 275
DT: #41, Donovan Hinish; Jr.; 6-2, 277
#93, Jared Dawson; Sr.; 6-1, 288
#56, Elijah Hughes; Jr.; 6-3, 300
DE: #95, Bryce Young; So.; 6-7, 271
#40, Joshua Burnham; Jr.; 6-4, 260
#10, Loghan Thomas; So.; 6-2, 220
WILL: #3, Jaylen Sneed; Jr.; 6-2, 230
#4, Jaiden Ausberry; So.; 6-2, 228
#19, Madden Faraimo; Fr.; 6-2, 235
MIKE: #34, Drayk Bowen; Jr.; 6-2, 235
#27, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa; So.; 6-3, 230
#19, Madden Faraimo; Fr.; 6-2, 235
NICKEL: #0, DeVonta Smith; Sr.; 5-11, 195
#21, Karson Hobbs; So.; 6-1, 189
#13, Ben Minich; So.; 6, 197
CB: #15, Leonard Moore; So.; 6-2, 195
#14, Dallas Golden; Fr.; 6, 187
#18, Chance Tucker; Sr.; 6, 183
BOUND: #8, Adon Shuler; So.; 6, 205
#28, Luke Talich; Jr.; 6-4, 210
#22, Ethan Long; Fr.; 6-3, 210
FIELD: #7, Jalen Stroman; Sr.; 6-1, 201
#9, Tae Johnson; Fr.; 6-2, 192
#22, Ethan Long; Fr.; 6-2, 210
CB: #6, Christian Gray; Jr.; 6, 190
#24, Mark Zackery IV; Fr.; 5-11, 175
#20, Cree Thomas; Fr.; 6-1, 189
Injury update
Texas A&M: OL Deuce Fatheree (knee) is doubtful.
Notre Dame: S Brandon Logan (shoulder) is out.
Texas A&M statistical leaders
Passing: Reed, 41-62 (66.1%), 507 yards, 7 TD
O’Neill, 4-7, 101 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Reed, 18 carries, 105 yards (5.8 YPC), 1 TD
Moss, 13 carries, 87 yards (6.7 YPC), 1 TD
Owens, 12 carries, 77 yards (6.4 YPC)
Receiving: Craver, 13 catches, 236 yards (18.2 YPC), 3 TD
Concepcion, 9 catches, 145 yards (16.1 YPC), 3 TD
Bethel-Roman, 4 catches, 68 yards
Notre Dame statistical leaders
Tackles: Stroman, 9
Bowen, 8
Traore, 6
Tackles for loss: Traore and Viliamu-Asa, 1
Sacks: Traore, 1
Notre Dame players to watch
CB Leonard Moore: A returning All-American, Moore had 48 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles and a team-high 11 passes defensed. He plays the boundary side of the field and excels in press coverage, so he’ll be a problem for whoever lines up there. But he normally doesn’t shadow a certain receiver, meaning Concepcion and Craver can move away from him.
LB Drayk Bowen: Bowen racked up 78 tackles, including 4 for loss and a sack, last year. He also forced a team-high 3 fumbles. He got off to a solid start against Miami, making 8 tackles in the loss.
DT Donovan Hinish: Very light for a defensive tackle at 277 pounds, Hinish’s speed makes him dangerous. He had 35 tackles, 5 TFL and 4.5 sacks last year, making him the team’s leading returning sack man. A&M’s interior linemen will have to be aware of his quickness off the ball to minimize the danger he poses.
Head to head: Texas A&M’s offense vs. Notre Dame’s defense
| Category | Texas A&M | National/SEC rank | Notre Dame | National rank |
| Scoring offense/defense | 43 PPG | 26th/7th | 27 PPG | 98th |
| Total offense/defense | 476.5 YPG | 27th/6th | 339 YPG | 84th |
| Rushing offense/defense | 171.5 YPG | 64th/9th | 134 YPG | 75th |
| Passing offense | 305 YPG | 21st/7th | 205 YPG | 77th |
| First downs/allowed | 47 | 43rd/10th | 20 | 6th |
| 3rd down conversion %/defensive % | 33.3% | 101st/14th | 30.8% | 52nd |
| Red zone %/defense | 100% | 1st nationally | 75% | 36th |
| Tackles for loss allowed/TFL | 3.5/game | 22nd/5th | 2/game | 133rd |
| Sacks allowed/sacks | 1/game | 29th/5th | 1/game | 102nd |
| Turnovers/ Turnovers forced | 1 | 23rd/3rd | 0 | 134th |
| Turnover +/- | Even | 65th/10th | -2 | 125th |
| Time of possession | 30:17 | 68th/10th | 26:03 | 113th |
What A&M wants to do
Keep balance and continue to operate at a high level. At times through both games, the Aggies were able to move the ball on the ground and through the air. A&M has scored on half of its drives when Reed is at quarterback over the first two games, so they’ve been extremely efficient. Even though they haven’t emphasized the run yet, the Aggies still are averaging 5 yards a carry as a team and five players (Reed, Moss, Owens, EJ Smith and Jamarion Morrow) averaging 5.8 YPC or better. The Aggies were fairly effective on the ground against Notre Dame last year and the Irish didn’t shut down Miami’s running game by any stretch, so it may be time for Moss and the offensive line to carry more of the load.
The other objective is clear: get the ball in the hands of KC Concepcion and Mario Craver as much as possible. A&M will likely continue to use the quick passing game, which has been extremely effective but also has risks — if the ball doesn’t come out quick, it can be picked off by an aggressive defender. It’s going to be critical for those passes to be blocked well. Notre Dame’s offense is running some similar concepts, so they’ve seen it a lot in practice.
But the Aggies can’t rely entirely on the short passing game. Reed has looked much, much better throwing intermediate to fairly deep passes and he’ll need to continue to do that Saturday night. Notre Dame plays a lot of man coverage, and the Aggie receivers could not get off the jam last year and were too slow to separate. The foursome of Concepcion, Craver, Terry Bussey and Ashton Bethel-Roman are much faster than last year’s group and should be more competitive against Notre Dame’s quality secondary. Reed will have to do something down the field to stop the Fighting Irish from keying on the run and the short passing game. If he hits a few shots of 15 yards or more, Notre Dame will have to back off.
The Aggies don’t necessarily need to do anything new, they just need to operate at a very high level and avoid major mistakes. A&M lost the turnover battle 2-0 last season and they can’t afford to have a repeat of that Saturday night.
How the Fighting Irish may try to counter
Win at the line of scrimmage. Not just against the run, but in limiting the pass game as well. Mess up the timing, get the receivers off their routes and make Reed adapt.
Even though Al Golden is now in the NFL, Chris Ash has kept Notre Dame’s defense pretty much the same: a lot of man coverage, mix up your looks and try to hide where you’re blitzing from. Last year, they used a lot of stunts and twists and really gave A&M’s offensive line fits. Most of the time, it’s four men coming after the quarterback, but you’ve got to figure out who the four are.
One thing Ash has done is moved the defensive ends in a little bit, so they’re on the inside shoulder of the tackle or tight end. The idea is that they’ll be able to pressure the quarterback better from this position. He is also looking for more speed up front, so they’re a little slimmer than some opponents the Aggies will face. But they rotate a lot of players, so they can get big if they need to. Their VYPER is very similar to A&M’s JACK, in that he’s a standup player on the edge who can either rush the passer or drop into coverage.
The trio of Sneed, Bowen and Ausberry at linebacker are very good and like to play close to the line of scrimmage to help against the run. The duo of Moore and Gray at corner are elite, and they’ll likely get the job of handling Concepcion and Craver. That matchup could decide the game, as they’re Notre Dame relies almost exclusively on man coverage. If Notre Dame wins that, life gets much harder for the Aggies.
