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Marcel Reed and No. 16 Texas A&M took down CJ Carr and No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 in a high-scoring prime-time recreation Saturday.
In a back-and-forth contest, the Aggies took their remaining lead with 11 seconds left on a fourth-down 11-yard landing move from Reed to tight finish Nate Boerkircher. Reed accomplished 17-of-30 passes for 360 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 37 yards, whereas Le’Veon Moss rushed for 3 touchdowns.
Carr handed for 291 yards and a landing, whereas Jeremiyah Love rushed for 94 yards and a landing, and Jadarian Price added 68 yards and two touchdowns.
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No. 16 Texas A&M survives slugfest vs. No. 8 Notre Dame with game-winning drive: Takeaways
Notre Dame in all probability must win out to get into the playoff.
10-2 with losses by a mixed 4 factors to 2 groups that I believe are additionally going to be waist deep within the CFP race makes a fairly good case.
Wouldn't harm if USC, Arkansas and Boise State had been all fairly good.
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Leonard Moore requested about what was incorrect with the protection towards Texas A&M:
💬 “Leverage, eyes, realizing your project in sure formations.”
What a operating again duo Notre Dame has at its disposal.
Within the first half, Jadarian Worth seemed like higher of the Irish’s two backs, displaying a powerful mixture of imaginative and prescient, burst and energy. He completed the night time with 12 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
On his second rating, he correctly bounced a run to the perimeter, noticed daylight and turned on the jets for an 18-yard sprint into the top zone, even throwing a pleasant stiff arm to purchase him some area.
Even with Jadarian Worth having a stellar recreation, Notre Dame nonetheless leaned closely on Jeremiyah Love, particularly within the fourth quarter. The junior operating again completed the night time with 27 complete touches, dashing for 94 yards and a landing on the bottom whereas including 4 catches for 50 yards and a rating as a move catcher.
Down the stretch, he was featured typically, together with a bunch of wildcat formations and direct snaps. In actual fact, Love gave Notre Dame the lead within the remaining minutes with a robust, 12-yard landing run.
Texas A&M didn’t simply win a recreation, it discovered quite a bit about its offense and quarterback.
Final season, first-year starter Marcel Reed’s manufacturing spiked late within the season after a gradual begin. He seems to be like a way more developed passer in his second season as a starter.
Reed racked up a career-high 360 yards on 17-of-37 passing for his first profession 300-yard recreation within the win towards the nation’s runner-up a season in the past, boasting two of the nation’s high corners in Leonard Moore and Christian Grey. No completion was greater than Reed's scrambling landing move — his second of the night time — to tight finish Nate Boerkircher that gave the Aggies the win.
Reed was displaying anticipation, throwing with accuracy and hitting throws he not often hit constantly final 12 months. And it helps that he’s acquired an upgraded group of speedy receivers in KC Concepcion from NC State, Mario Craver from Mississippi State and Terry Bussey. Craver hauled in an 86-yard catch and run within the first half from Reed, who accomplished the move rolling left. Craver’s seven-catch, 207-yard night time made him the Aggies' first 200-yard receiver since Mike Evans in 2013. That may’t occur with an improved passer like Reed.
Moore and Grey had been battling accidents, however Reed is displaying the sort of progress that provides A&M an offense balanced sufficient to contend for the SEC.
Notre Dame constructed final 12 months’s run to the nationwide championship recreation round its protection underneath coordinator Al Golden and a veteran backbone that included two sixth-year seniors and a two-time All-American. It’s proving a lot more durable to interchange all that than Marcus Freeman would have anticipated.
The Irish had been picked aside by Marcel Reed, who put Notre Dame in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. By halftime, the Irish protection allowed the identical variety of touchdowns by means of six quarters (seven) than it did within the first six video games of final season. Obvious accidents to cornerbacks Leonard Moore and Christian Grey didn’t assist. Neither did the Aggies’ pace at broad receiver, which acquired behind the Irish secondary all recreation.
The shock of Notre Dame’s protection taking this huge of a step again this shortly ought to ship up alarm bells as first-year coordinator Chris Ash has but to seek out the correct formulation for a protection anticipated to select up the place final 12 months’s left off. The Irish didn’t sack Reed after taking down Carson Beck simply as soon as within the loss at Miami. Notre Dame compelled its first turnover of the season however completed with simply the Moore interception. And the Irish posted only one sort out for loss all night time.
Notre Dame’s protection received’t be examined by pace like Texas A&M for the subsequent month, maybe not till USC visits on Oct. 18. However with a protection that’s placing some vexing materials on tape, it’s not clear how a lot Notre Dame can depend on it’s protection transferring ahead.
As soon as a recognized amount, the Irish protection is now a riddle that Ash wants to resolve as quickly as doable. Notre Dame received't make the School Soccer Playoff except he does.
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Marcus Freeman, who is among the highest-profile defensive-mined head coaches in faculty soccer, says there is no such thing as a consideration to altering play callers on protection away from defensive coordinator Chris Ash.
Let’s hear from Notre Dame followers after that absolute heartbreaker in South Bend:
Matt B: Nice recreation. Texas A&M was higher and so they actually received the sport twice, given the kickoff return. That they had higher safety up entrance and that was the distinction on this one, I believe. ND made plenty of good performs, however in key moments, A&M blocked higher and their dynamic receivers made some key performs that led them to victory. The Irish have quite a bit to play for — Arkansas in Fayetteville, USC at house in October, and so on. — however they don’t belong anyplace close to the playoffs with two losses and no convention championship to play for.
Zach Y: So disappointing to lose again to again video games like this. Stunned by the defensive play this far this season. 1 sack solely. None tonight. Reed was slinging.
Milan P: We are able to nonetheless make the playoffs if we win out. Early losses are waaayyy higher than late season losses.
Positive, CJ Carr may have performed higher tonight, but it surely’s arduous to put the blame fully on him in both of Notre Dame’s two season-opening losses towards ranked opponents. Carr had some errors, together with a foul interception late within the first half and a botched snap on fourth down when he clapped out of frustration and despatched the incorrect sign to his middle.
However he additionally engineered 5 Notre Dame landing drives and 7 scoring drives altogether. If not for a botched maintain on Notre Dame’s remaining additional level and defensive miscues all night time lengthy from the Preventing Irish, Notre Dame would have received.
Carr completed 20-of-34 passing for 293 yards, one landing, and one interception. That must be adequate to defeat most opponents with a workforce just like the one Carr has round him. It simply barely fell brief tonight.
Nate Boerkircher, a fifth-year senior who transferred from Nebraska within the offseason, had simply 21 catches and one landing in his profession earlier than scoring the game-winner for A&M.
It was his third catch this season and first landing since 2022.
At one level tonight, Mario Craver was on tempo for over 300 yards of receiving.
Whereas that didn’t come to fruition, his statline in Texas A&M's win was nonetheless absurd. Craver caught seven of his 12 targets for 207 yards, together with an 86-yard landing.
On that lengthy rating, he made a leaping seize earlier than accelerating down the sideline. He was met by a cloud of Notre Dame defenders however by some means absorbed the contact, spun to remain on his toes and sprinted the remainder of the way in which untouched for the landing.
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Texas A&M wouldn’t have received this recreation with out Le’Veon Moss’ manufacturing within the first two quarters.
The operating again rushed for three touchdowns within the first half, ending the sport with 73 yards dashing on 18 carries.
None of his touchdowns had been lengthy runs, however they had been bodily, incomes his method into the top zone with pressure.
Georgia 44, Tennessee 41 (OT) and Texas A&M 41, Notre Dame 40 on the identical day was an absolute deal with.
Texas A&M completed with 360 yards passing and two touchdowns towards a protection that completed No. 1 nationally in move effectivity final season. Simply arduous to get your head round what's occurred to this protection. Simply two TFLs tonight and one sack.
Lower than two years in the past, Mike Elko returned to School Station as head coach of a gifted however perennially underachieving program.
Underachievers no extra. Right here’s Elko to NBC on the sphere at Notre Dame Stadium:
💬 “Unbelievable. Marcel Reed, our two broad receivers Mario (Craver) and KC (Concepcion) stored making performs. Nate Boerkircher makes an unbelievable play. We didn’t play nice, however we made all of the performs we wanted to make to win the sport.
“That is the subsequent step. We’re a 3-0 soccer workforce, we acquired plenty of huge video games left, that’s what it’s like taking part in on this league, however we needed to go on the street at night time and beat a ranked workforce, and we did that tonight.”
Marcel Reed simply led the Aggies to a street win over Notre Dame with a last-second landing move that would have stymied the Irish's playoff hopes already.
The sophomore out of Nashville completed the night time with 360 yards passing, two touchdowns and one interception, including one other 37 yards on the bottom.
On the game-winning landing, he rolled out to his left as he was pressured earlier than lofting a 50/50 ball to Nate Boerkircher, who high-pointed the soccer superbly. His quarterback gave him an opportunity and the tight finish made a play.
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Notre Dame’s hopes of returning to the School Soccer Playoff at the moment are on life assist — thanks to 2 video games they misplaced towards ranked opponents by a complete of 4 factors.
That’s a heartbreaking loss for Notre Dame. What a recreation. Hats off to Mike Elko and the way shortly he has turned this A&M program round.
Everybody was sleeping on Marcel Reed, considering he was only a operating QB.
Nope!
