Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2024 41 GAME PREVIEW: TEXAS A&M sive end Nic Scourton, a Purdue trans- fer, is among the best defensive players Notre Dame will go against in the regu- lar season as well. As fun, easy and natural as it is to dive headfirst into the Elko versus Leonard storyline — and worthwhile, too, for that matter — there is so much more than those two people that will define the outcome of one of the biggest non- conference games on the entire 2024 college football schedule. Freeman learned that the hard way in 2022. So much of the lead-up into Notre Dame's season opener at Ohio State was centered on Freeman going back to his alma mater. Inherently, that led the dis- course down a path of, "Ohio State is this, Ohio State is that." Similarly, there is a lot of "Kyle Field is this, Kyle Field is that" lobbying going around from those interested in this season's inaugural kickoff. There needs to be less of it, Free- man thinks. Less leaning into having to play at the place EA Sports deemed the No. 1 home environment in college football prior to the summer release of its College Football 25 video game. Less leaning into Elko versus Leonard. Less leaning into the idea that Notre Dame is under the gun to get a much- needed season-opening victory against a household name SEC school. "I want to focus on the real things that can make us better," Freeman said. "Confidence is important. Our players need confidence. Our players need to believe they are prepared. Not scared or worried about going to Texas A&M, Ohio State or a big environment. "I want those guys so confident they're ready to go when we take the field when- ever that date is. They truly in their heart believe they can get this job done." ✦ 1. A 'Very Complex' Defense Mike Elko did just about all he could to completely confuse the Notre Dame offense when the Fighting Irish went against the Duke Blue Devils in the final weekend of September last year. Until Notre Dame's final drive of the game, when the Irish went 95 yards in 2:04 to score the eventual game-winning touchdown with 31 seconds remaining, the Irish had 286 total yards and 13 points. Elko, a former Notre Dame and Texas A&M defensive coordinator, is known for coaching tough defenses. Generally, though, it takes time for his players to master them. It could be the Aggies who are confused out of the gates Aug. 31, not the Irish. All-American Aggies linebacker Taurean York called Elko's scheme "a lot more sophisticated" than the one he played in last year and, "very complex." "I feel like I've been telling people my sophomore year has been harder than my freshman year just because the level of difficulty of the defense presents itself and the amount of communication it takes to run the de- fense," York noted If A&M players do understand Elko's system by kickoff, though, there could be another long day in store for the Notre Dame offense — even with Mike Denbrock as the Irish's offensive coordinator and quarterback Riley Leonard taking the shots. If that duo runs it up, there will be many saying Notre Dame caught Elko and A&M at just the right time — his very first game as the program's head coach. 2. A Quarterback's Coming-Out Party? Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman was fantastic in the first four games of his redshirt freshman season, completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 979 yards with 8 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He has a career 16-to-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Never has he had the chance to play in a game of this magnitude, though. Sure, he helped the Aggies beat LSU two seasons ago, but that was the fin- ishing touch on an otherwise disappointing 5-7 season. Weigman's numbers were modest, 155 passing yards and 2 touchdowns, and the Tigers still went on to represent the SEC West in the conference's championship game. A&M didn't spoil much. Before injuring his foot in Week 4 last year, Weigman faced New Mexico, Miami, Louisiana-Monroe and Auburn. Weigman threw for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Hurricanes, but he also threw 2 interceptions and the Aggies lost by 15. Not quite a marquee statement for the signal-caller. This, though, is a clean slate. He's healthy, and he's got 2025 NFL Draft buzz. The Fighting Irish are in his house for the second time ever. The game is on ABC in primetime and ESPN's "College GameDay" is previewing it live from College Station. Notre Dame needs to be worried that Weigman is going to come out and emphatically stake his claim as one of the best quarterbacks in college football. He's got that kind of upside, and he is certainly going to want to prove it on such a gigantic stage. 3. An Interesting Offensive Coordinator Elko's firm standing as Texas A&M's head coach is well documented. Who- ever took over for Jimbo Fisher after a $77 million buyout was always going to draw a ton of attention. Elko has certainly done that. His running mate on the other side of the ball from the one he specializes in is offensive coordinator Collin Klein, a Heisman Trophy finalist with Kansas State in 2012 who served on his alma mater's coaching staff for the last seven seasons. Kansas State often punched above its weight class in the Big 12, including beating Oklahoma in three of the last four matchups, and Klein had a lot to do with it. The Wildcats actually averaged more offensive yards per game than Notre Dame in each of the last two seasons, Klein's first two as the of- fensive coordinator. He was the quarterbacks coach for the prior five seasons. The 34-year-old Klein turned down the Notre Dame OC job ahead of the 2023 season, so there is an opportunity for those in blue and gold keenly aware of that to get one over on him even if it's far down the list of reasons to want to come out of the Lone Star State with a victory — as it should be. — Tyler Horka Texas A&M offensive coordinator Collin Klein spent the last seven seasons on the staff at his alma mater, Kansas State, before agreeing to join Mike Elko in College Station. PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS A&M Three Things to Know About Texas A&M