Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 SEPT. 7, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT In a game that neither team led by more than one score until 30 seconds remained, Notre Dame's sustained and impressive drive late in the fourth quarter proved to be the turning point in this 23-13 Irish victory. Following a Texas A&M punt, Notre Dame began the drive at its own 15-yard line and needed only one third-down conversion and great work on the ground from sopho- more tailback Jeremiyah Love to cap an eight-play, 85-yard drive in 4:29 to grab a 20-13 lead that essentially sealed this important win. Love posted 4 carries for 36 yards on the drive, finishing it with a 21-yard touchdown run up the middle that turned out to be the game-winning play. STATS OF THE GAME A game that lived up to its billing as a bat- tle of two terrific defenses, Notre Dame got the upper hand after holding Texas A&M to only 246 total yards. The Aggies managed 146 yards on the ground and a measly 100 yards through the air against terrific Irish secondary play. Texas A&M redshirt sophomore quarter- back Conner Weigman completed only 12 of 30 passes (40.0 percent) with no touch- downs and 2 interceptions, a subpar per- formance that contributed to the Aggies averaging only 3.6 yards per play in the game. The Notre Dame defense was also stingy on third downs, holding Texas A&M to just 4 of 13 on those critical plays. The Irish scored only three points off their 2 forced turnovers — both interceptions — but those two takeaways stalled Texas A&M drives and kept momentum from swinging to the Aggies side. BETTER THAN ADVERTISED The top storyline heading into the game was speculation about how Notre Dame's inexperienced offensive line would hold up against the talented, veteran defensive front of Texas A&M. The Irish line entered the game with only six career starts spread out among its start- ing five. Meanwhile, the Texas A&M defen- sive line — a front that Blue & Gold Illus- trated rated as the best the Irish will face all season — returned several standouts from a unit that led the SEC and finished seventh in the country in sacks last season with 3.23 per game, and was second in the league and fifth nationally with 7.6 tackles for loss. Flipping the script, Notre Dame won the battle of the trenches and did not allow a single sack of Irish senior quarterback Riley Leonard in the 10-point Irish win. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE PLACEKICKER MITCH JETER In a game where points came at a premium, the Irish graduate student and South Carolina transfer made a memorable debut with his new team by converting all three of his field goal attempts and both of his extra point tries to help Notre Dame keep things even in the first half, and then pull away in the fourth quarter. Jeter's terrific night included field goals of 46 and 26 yards in the first half, then another 46-yarder with 30 seconds left in the game to cap the scoring and lift the Irish to the 10-point win. TAILBACK JEREMIYAH LOVE The sophomore speedster didn't exactly stuff the stat sheet against Texas A&M with 14 carries for 91 yards, but his game-winning 21-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter lifted this rising Irish star to game-ball honors. Tied 13-13 with two minutes left in the game, Love went up the middle behind great blocking from a young and untested offensive line for a touchdown that put the Irish up 20-13. Expected to enjoy a breakout season after finishing second on the Irish with 385 rushing yards last year, Love didn't disappoint in his 2024 debut. SAFETY XAVIER WATTS The reigning 2023 Bronko Nagurski Award winner as the best defensive player in the country last season picked up where he left off against Texas A&M, finishing with 3 tackles (2 solo) and 1 interception. Watts' most memorable play of the game came late in the second quarter when the All-American safety picked off Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman over the middle at midfield to stall a Texas A&M drive that helped preserve a 6-6 tie before halftime. Known as a ballhawk, Watts last season tied for nation's lead with 7 interceptions and finished third on the Irish with 52 total tackles. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Graduate student safety Xavier Watts made 3 tackles and notched his first interception of the season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER