Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1539020
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 13, 2025 33 GAME PREVIEW: TEXAS A&M Reed did not play in Notre Dame's 23‑13 road victory over the Aggies to kick off the 2024 season in College Sta‑ tion. Conner Weigman did. Reed later topped the depth chart at quarterback, first as an injury re‑ placement for Weigman before over‑ taking a healthy version of him on the depth chart later and eventually coax‑ ing Weigman into the transfer portal (Houston). Collectively, they combined for the 85th‑most prolific pass offense in the FBS and a No. 67 national ranking in pass efficiency. Tex a s A & M , i n t h e o f f s ea s o n , swapped out big receivers who la‑ bored to create separation for smaller, speedier types like North Carolina State transfer KC Concepcion (5‑11, 190) and Mississippi State transfer Mario Craver (5‑9, 165). "When you talk about KC and Mario as a couple of the new additions, what sticks out to me about both of them is they both love to compete," A&M of‑ fensive coordinator Collin Klein told re‑ porters ahead of the season. "They both love the game of football. They play ex‑ tremely hard every single snap, whether it's blocking, whether the ball's coming their way or not. "And they're team guys. If a quarter‑ back misses a ball, they're going over there and encouraging him like, 'Hey, we'll get the next one.' "So, there's a really good, not just skill set of route‑running, understanding of coverage — those types of things of ac‑ tually doing the job. But there's a lot of intangible things that they've brought to our unit that I've been really excited about." Keep an eye on homegrown redshirt freshman Ashton Bethel‑Roman (6‑0, 185), who surged big time during Texas A&M's on‑ramp to the 2025 season and may have a more dynamic role than vaunted sophomore Terry Bussey, a for‑ mer five‑star prospect. "All of our players, every single posi‑ tion group, have really, really taken it upon themselves to deepen their level of understanding about the game of foot‑ ball," Klein said. "Their position, their fundamentals, defensive recognition, to be able to elevate their game, elevate their capacity, which then allows us as a staff and us as an offense to be able to use more of the offense." Elko himself went three weeks in August without speaking to the media, breaking his self‑imposed silence on the Monday before the Aug. 30 season opener against UTSA. Overall, Texas A&M is one of the most experi‑ enced teams in college football in terms of re‑ turning starters (15), but will they look like that? Elko, in trying to mini‑ mize preseason injuries, cut way back on practice contact. Texas A&M in fact, only had one scrim‑ mage during the month‑ long preseason, and then it was fairly early in camp and without tackling to the point of taking the 2025 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Aug. 31 at Miami L, 27-24 Sept. 13 Texas A&M (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 20 Purdue (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Sept. 27 at Arkansas (ABC) 12 p.m. Oct. 4 Boise State (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 11 NC State (Peacock) 3:30 p.m. Oct. 18 Southern Cal (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at Boston College TBA Nov. 8 Navy (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 at Pittsburgh TBA Nov. 22 Syracuse (NBC) 3:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Stanford TBA 2025 TEXAS A&M SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Aug. 30 UTSA W, 42-24 Sept. 6 Utah State (SECN) 12:45 p.m. Sept. 13 at Notre Dame (NBC) 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 Auburn TBA Oct. 4 Mississippi State TBA Oct. 11 Florida TBA Oct. 18 at Arkansas TBA Oct. 25 at LSU TBA Nov. 8 at Missouri TBA Nov. 15 South Carolina TBA Nov. 22 Samford (ESPN+) 12 p.m. Nov. 28 at Texas (ABC) 7:30 p.m. Facts & Figures TEXAS A&M AT NOTRE DAME Date: Sept. 13, 2025 Site (Capacity): Notre Dame Stadium (77,622) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Radio: This game can be heard on Notre Dame IMG affiliates. Series Facts: Notre Dame leads 4-2. The Irish won the last meeting, 23-13, in College Station, Texas, on Aug. 31, 2024. Head coaches: Texas A&M — Mike Elko (9-5, 2nd season); Notre Dame — Marcus Freeman (33-11, 4th season). Noting Texas A&M: Even though Notre Dame leads the series 4-2, the most the Irish have scored in any game against Texas A&M is 28 points. That was in the Cotton Bowl to conclude the 1992 season, one of three postseason games the two teams tangled in … Reveille X, A&M's collie mascot, had her right eye removed this offseason as a precaution after being diagnosed with glaucoma … Just six members remain on the Aggies' roster from its 2022 recruiting class of 30 players that ranked No. 1 in that recruiting cycle. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Marcel Reed can make an impact with his legs as well as his arm. PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS A&M ATHLETICS