Aug 31 | Texas A&M

[Classic Irish]

Currently in College Station. Hot and muggy as you’d expect.

 

[PutuporShutup]

In fairness to Elko's brief stint in 2017, don't forget how BAD the 2016 ND defense was and what he was dealing with when he got here.

He turned it around quickly despite those few poor performances. It was a different feel to our D almost instantly, you have to admit that.

For sure, my point is he’s never had an D anywhere that didn’t get exploited at least a few times in a season … good defenses, but they can be had. Every year as DC at wake, nd, a&m, and as head coach at Duke, his team has given up over 30 points at least twice. I’d like to see nd be one of the teams that scores over 30 on him.

 

[PutuporShutup]

The Louisville and Clemson games last year are the ones I’m still scratching my head about and the 30+ they put on us. Some of that was the fault of the offense though. Otherwise I have a lot of confidence in our defense.

Clemson pick 6 and offense in a shell most of the game

Louisville team waa not ready, turnovers, freeman going for it on fourth, and 2 brown missed tackles on td runs

 

[arrowryan]

The Louisville and Clemson games last year are the ones I’m still scratching my head about and the 30+ they put on us. Some of that was the fault of the offense though. Otherwise I have a lot of confidence in our defense.

I’d put almost 100% of the blame on the offense for both games. You can only go 3 and out so many times before the defense starts to crack.

 

[Terry Jillery]

Clemson pick 6 and offense in a shell most of the game

Louisville team waa not ready, turnovers, freeman going for it on fourth, and 2 brown missed tackles on td runs

I agree. We basically shut down Stroud and the best WRs in the country. We are not facing that tomorrow. If our D plays like that I can’t see us losing. We turned the ball over 5 x’s vs Louisville. That can’t happen. I’d rather see a somewhat conservative offensive approach and if the Aussie has to flip the field a few times instead of us throwing INTs, so be it.

 

[IrishLion]

That 2017 Elko D gave up 41 to miami, 37 to Wake, and 38 to stanford.

Really only USC in 23 exploited Golden in his 2 years, (maybe Navy in 22 as well but that was more rees and his 3 and outs over and over).

Like @Some Irish Bloke said, I think ND media are more likely to remember the 2016 --> 2017 transition and how quickly the whole unit improved, even if they had a few stinkers.

Combine that potential with an ND offense breaking in a lot of new pieces at key spots, with a new offense and potential communication issues, I get why everyone feels A&M wins a close, low-scoring game.

Golden's defense is not going to lose this game... the question is about ND's offense needing to provide just enough cover fire to get out with a win. I get why people would be skeptical about that right now. I don't agree with them, as I think Denbrock is going to do all of the things we were begging Rees and War Daddy to do to make the game easier on their QB's, but I do get the concern relative to "ND's offense vs Elko's defense"

 

[Terry Jillery]

27-13. That’s my prediction. Our D shows up big.

 

[IrishLion]

27-13. That’s my prediction. Our D shows up big.

PAGING @Some Irish Bloke

We need a prediction thread

 

[Veritate Duce Progredi]

Which is the more likely to happen:

A. ND's defense gets shellshocked and we're all incredibly nervous after the first two drives

B. ND's offense shellshocks TAMU the first two drives and we all get incredibly nervous it was just luck?

 

[Pops Freshenmeyer]

Like @Some Irish Bloke said, I think ND media are more likely to remember the 2016 --> 2017 transition and how quickly the whole unit improved, even if they had a few stinkers.

Combine that potential with an ND offense breaking in a lot of new pieces at key spots, with a new offense and potential communication issues, I get why everyone feels A&M wins a close, low-scoring game.

Golden's defense is not going to lose this game... the question is about ND's offense needing to provide just enough cover fire to get out with a win. I get why people would be skeptical about that right now. I don't agree with them, as I think Denbrock is going to do all of the things we were begging Rees and War Daddy to do to make the game easier on their QB's, but I do get the concern relative to "ND's offense vs Elko's defense"

With a mobile quarterback, quickness in the slot, speed at RB, and excellent flex TEs (Evans and Raridon), plus the rebuilt WR room and Mike Denbrock, I think ND has the tools to have some success getting horizontal and neutralizing A&M's biggest advantage. Maybe they won't score a lot but I think they can be respectable.

OTOH, A&M's offense just cannot move the ball without throwing it against ND's nickel defense. I feel pretty comfortable with that matchup and as a result I expect ND to win the turnover battle.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

PAGING @Some Irish Bloke

We need a prediction thread

It's up and live! Get after it lol

https://www.irishenvy.com/threads/2024-week-1-prediction-poll-7-notre-dame-20-texas-a-m.3051276/

 

[SoIll]

Mike Frank took A&M (whatever)

The rest of ISD took ND

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Fun fact: A&M (3-7) has just 1 more win than ND (2-0) does against LSU in the last decade, and we've only played them twice. You guys play them every year.
The Tigers don't scare us, and I feel like we've made up some ground on Bama in the last few years, especially with the departure of Saban. Wouldn't be scared to play the SEC West.

ND was also the underdog and won w/ a backup QB in both games

 

[TxAg33]

Fun fact: A&M (3-7) has just 1 more win than ND (2-0) does against LSU in the last decade, and we've only played them twice. You guys play them every year.
The Tigers don't scare us, and I feel like we've made up some ground on Bama in the last few years, especially with the departure of Saban. Wouldn't be scared to play the SEC West.

it's not about being scared or making up ground. in last 3 years we've beaten Bama, ended up with an incomplete pass to win it on the road from the 2 yrd line, and lost by 6 at home with a chance to win on the last drive. and 2 of those 3 were with our backup QB. we're also 2-2 vs LSU last 4, with 3 of thise a backup QB.

My point was the original post beating your chests about playing for conf championships while a&m wasnt. i wonder hiw many times nd wouldve been playing for a conf championship in the Sec West the last 15 years when Bama and LSU were winning national championships and beating teams like ND by 20 or 30 points, like they did us.

there were times a&m was 3rd in its Division but ranked top 10. is what it is, or was.

This year there is no SEC West.

 

[a mike]

With this logic, I wouldn't consider on the road against the #20 team a big game.

Agree is not how I would particularly earmark this A&M game either. A legit national championship caliber team should easily dispatch this Aggies outfit around something like 28-13. Even if--OH NO OH NO--their fans are going to cheer against us-GASP-and also, we're their Super Bowl, they don't cheer against teams like Bama when they win there. Plus it's gonna be like hot and at night. Oh poor poor Marcus--what can he even do???

But as to your original point, I was merely correcting the poster that when ND is already out of national championship contention and is fighting for their lives to just salvage a mediocre season--I don't think it can really be considered a "big game".

Sometimes I can only conclude that lost here didn't start watching ND football until like circa the early 2000s. Because the flexes thrown out are always so strange.

Oh yeah, well we scored over 24 points that one time because our defense had two pick-6's and another pick inside the opponents 20! And then this other game we scored over 24 points against like the 80th ranked defense in the country! See--our offense doesn't suck in big games!!

 

[rikkitikki08]

ND 28 A&M 17, close in the first half but ND controls the ball in the second half

 

[Terry Jillery]

Just play clean. If we do, it’ll take care of itself. Our D is way too good to mess the game up. Only thing that will lose this game is bonehead offensive turnovers and penalties.

 

[TxAg33]

That was their welcome to the SEC door prize.

Maybe the SEC wanted them to have it harder, since the last 15 years A&M had the harder schedule.

 

[TxAg33]

some of the TAMU beat guys think ND will struggle to score 9 pts

just curious- who was claiming our defense was elite, this year or last????

 

[pumpdog20]

I just don't think we've had a QB like Leonard. He's not perfect, but the combination of his athleticism and MD scheming is going to really help here. The two defenses are really going to shine, but Leonard's clutch playmaking prevents some bad sacks that may have happened with the last couple of QBs.
I see where the run game probably struggles early, so they move Love to more of a Theo Riddick role and I see a game similar to 2012 OK, where it's tight all game until the end and the good guys win.

 

[GoldenBoy3]

Just play clean. If we do, it’ll take care of itself. Our D is way too good to mess the game up. Only thing that will lose this game is bonehead offensive turnovers and penalties.

This is the most important thing in my opinion. We do not need to give Kyle Field ammunition to be louder. Mark this down, Weigman will be another Tyler Van Dyke, lots of preseason hype and you're going to see him at like Kansas next year trying to salvage whatever draft stock he can recover. ND 24 TAMU 13

 

[pumpdog20]

Haven't seen anything on the Vivid Seats Fan Forecast for Kyle Field tomorrow. I'm thinking that we'll probably have 10% or less there at the game

So unlike ND Stadium, where our fans let in way too many of the opposing fans.

 

[TxAg33]

To be fair, A&M was in the Big XII for half of those seasons since 2000, and they never finished better than 3rd in their division. More often, they were in the bottom half of the Big XII South.

oh yeah, thats when Oklahoma and Texas were playing for national championshios!

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

oh yeah, thats when Oklahoma and Texas were playing for national championshios!

Can't have your cake and eat it too, my guy. You made a silly comment adding LSU to that post, own it. We were also 1-1 against Oklahoma, with a win in Norman, in 2012, when they were competing for national titles under Stoops.

 

[GoldenBoy3]

oh yeah, thats when Oklahoma and Texas were playing for national championshios!

Question for you. If ND wins, what is the story line, and if TAMU wins what is the story line?

 

[TxAg33]

According to weather.com, at 7pm it'll be 70% humidity with a real feel of 94, so it's still a factor but certainly could be worse.

thats almost a coldfront for August in Texas.

 

[TxAg33]

Can't have your cake and eat it too, my guy. You made a silly comment adding LSU to that post, own it. We were also 1-1 against Oklahoma, with a win in Norman, in 2012, when they were competing for national titles under Stoops.

Huh???? what was silly about it? I said LSU and Bama in my iriginal post. i just went back and added the recent

oerformances when yiu or simeone else commented that yall arent scared of bama and lsu and are closing the gap. go back aand read the posts and it might make more sense for you.

by the way, your comment about Oklahoma in 2012- we obliterated them in the Cotton Bowl that year.

 

[NDWarrior]

Let's get hyped!!!!! You Gots to Chill | Irish Hype: Game 1 vs Texas A&M | Notre Dame Football 🍀🍀🍀

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Just a little food for thought on the "12th Man." I'm not saying it won't be loud, I'm not saying it's not a tough place to play, but can Sampson and the rest of the beat stop acting like this is going to be some other worldly, out of body experience?

"Since 2017 the Texas A&M Aggies are just 19-10 at home against Power 5 opponents."

 

[PutuporShutup]

Which is the more likely to happen:

A. ND's defense gets shellshocked and we're all incredibly nervous after the first two drives

B. ND's offense shellshocks TAMU the first two drives and we all get incredibly nervous it was just luck?

B. will never happen....... If/when we shell shock A&M, not one fan will think it's luck, everyone will be screaming January 20th, Atlanta, mercedez Benz