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What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 41-40 loss against Texas A&M

Singer headshotby: Mike Singer3 hours agoMikeTSinger

Notre Dame suffered another setback on Saturday night, falling 41-40 against Texas A&M in a back-and-forth barn burner. The Irish are now 0-2 to start the 2025 season.

In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about the Fighting Irish’s loss against the Aggies, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Bob Morton giving their instant reaction to the game in a YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player above.

Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: After loss to Texas A&M, CFP conversation is irrelevant until Notre Dame fixes its defense

Marcus Freeman doesn’t have the answers.

How could he, after his secondary allowed 360 passing yards on 21.2 yards per completion? After his defensive front compiled only 2 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hits and not a single sack? After his team allowed touchdown drives of 90, 75, 75, 47 and 74 yards to lose the game?

Freeman doesn’t have the answers because there is no easy answer to what happened on Saturday night. The Irish fell on a jaw-dropping contested catch by graduate student tight end Nate Boerkircher in tight coverage by junior linebacker Drayk Bowen, but this wasn’t on one player or one play. It was everyone, from coordinator Chris Ash down, on the once-vaunted Notre Dame defense.

He only knows one thing for sure: What happened during Saturday night’s 41-40 loss to Texas A&M was unacceptable.

“It’s not good enough,” Freeman said. “Not good enough in the run and pass, not good enough getting pressure on the quarterback. We had some unexpected injuries, but it doesn’t matter. You’re on the field, we’ve gotta put you in position to make plays.”

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Tyler James, Blue & Gold: Report card—Grading Notre Dame football in 41-40 loss to Texas A&M

No. 8 Notre Dame lost its second consecutive game to start the season. The No. 16 Aggies stunned the Irish with a 41-40 victory clinched in the final seconds of the fourth quarter.

Blue & Gold hands out grades for Notre Dame’s performances in every aspect of the loss.

Notre Dame Passing Offense: B

Quarterback CJ Carr did enough through the air to put Notre Dame in a position to win the game, but he still showed signs of being an inexperienced quarterback in the 41-40 loss to Texas A&M. He forced a pass to running back Jadarian Price that defensive tackle Albert Regis tipped and linebacker Scooby Williams intercepted in the second quarter. And with time about to expire in the first half, he clapped his hands in frustration, which prompted a snap from center Ashton Craig when the Irish intended to head to the locker room without a play.

The offensive line did a better job of protecting Carr than it did against Miami, but he was still sacked three times. Carr finished 20-of-32 passing (62.5%) for 293 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Carr was hit-and-miss with wide receiver Malachi Fields, who caught a team-high five passes for 77 yards on 11 targets.

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Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: How Notre Dame let win slip away in final minutes vs. Texas A&M

Christian Gray looked up at the sky and said a prayer, shaking his hands to the heavens. Tae Johnson and Luke Talich, two young Notre Dame safeties about to play the biggest snap of their lives, pulled their facemasks together and hyped each other up.

This was what defensive players dream about when they’re kids. Fourth-and-goal with the game on the line.

Seconds later, reality set in. 

Redshirt sophomore Texas A&M quarterback dropped back to pass. While he did that, it should be noted, junior Aggies guard Chase Bisontis tackled redshirt junior Irish defensive tackle Donovan Hinish. No call was made, so Reed moved to his left and tossed a perfect pass to graduate student tight end Nate Boerkircher.

With junior Irish linebacker Drayk Bowen draped all over him, Boerkircher made the catch. And barring an improbable run over the next two-and-a-half months, Notre Dame’s dreams for the 2025 season were snuffed out in an instant.

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Pamela Maldonado, ESPN: It’s not all doom and gloom for 0-2 Notre Dame

Well, this isn’t the start I was expecting for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Two games in and the record says zero wins, two losses. The story, however, is a little more complicated than that. Sometimes the numbers on the surface don’t capture the full picture, and sometimes the beginning of a season doesn’t tell the whole story of where it could go.

Notre Dame has stumbled out of the gate, but the bigger question is whether those stumbles are cracks in the foundation or simply early growing pains against top-tier competition. What comes next will decide if this season fades into disappointment or transforms into something entirely different.

On the surface, Notre Dame’s 0-2 start looks like a disaster. The Irish lost their opener on the road to the Miami Hurricanes, then followed it up with a one-point heartbreaker against the Texas A&M Aggies in South Bend.

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Nick Shepowski, Notre Dame on SI: Panic Setting In? The Ultimate Fear for Notre Dame After 0–2 Start

Notre Dame sits at 0-2 to start a season. After Saturday night’s 41-40 loss to Texas A&M, Freeman became the first coach in program history to have two different 0-2 starts to his name.

Now, as Freeman and the rest of the Notre Dame football team look to pick up the pieces and salvage the rest of the 2025 season, something that’s clearly missing with this team early is worth examining.

Notre Dame’s Defense is Amiss

Notre Dame has long prided itself on defense and in the last two seasons, had one of the very best in all of college football. Through two games in 2025, it’s clear that this defensive unit resembles the previous two only in a handful of names that return.

It starts up front and the defensive line hasn’t done nearly enough early in the year. It hasn’t generated anything near a consistent or threatening pass rush through two games and what’s behind it hasn’t been much better.

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Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman

Q. What do you see from the (defensive) side of the ball, and why is it not living up to recent standards?

Freeman: “It’s not good enough. Not good enough in the run and pass, not good enough getting pressure on the quarterback. We had some unexpected injuries, but it doesn’t matter. You’re on the field, we’ve got to put you in position to make plays.

“We didn’t play well enough. I thought the second half, we came out and played better. We started the second half better, but I put them in a bad situation. We didn’t convert the fourth-and-1 offensively. They got the ball, I think at the minus 49 and ended up getting a field goal. But then the last three, that series and the two series after that, you give up another field goal, and then a TD at the end of the game.

“So it’s a lot of work. It’s not good enough. I haven’t watched it. I can’t tell you specifically who, what scheme. I’m not blaming anybody. We gotta do better. It’s not good enough.”

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Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko

Opening statement from postgame press conference:

“Obviously hats off to Notre Dame. That was an unbelievable college football game. Two heavyweight teams throwing punches back and forth at each other from start to finish, all the way down to the wire. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. I don’t know that that thing went to script in any way, shape or form to how you would script a win on the road. We just battled. We battled through a blocked punt. We battled through some procedure penalties. We battled through some coverage busts that created some open explosives for them. And we just kept fighting and we just kept fighting and we kept fighting and ultimately made the play we needed to make to win the football game on the road. And so, hopefully you guys won’t have to ask me any more questions about whether or not Marcel can throw. That’s what I really hope comes out of this win.”

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