Disaster Strikes Again: Notre Dame Suffers Another Agonizing Home Loss
- Liam Farrell
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
No. 8 Notre Dame loses a must-win game that they had every opportunity to win as No. 16 Texas A&M escapes South Bend with a 41-40 victory.
Art by The Irish Tribune
Notre Dame had every opportunity to win tonight's thrilling matchup against Texas A&M and let
it slip.
Let's not even talk about the disastrous performance defensive coordinator Chris Ash has turned in for his first two games in the role, but simply look at the stats that back it up. This Notre Dame defense, that was one of the nation's best last season, just gave up 488 total yards of offense, with 360 coming through the air. A secondary that returns a preseason first team All-American alongside its No. 2 cornerback and a safety that was elected as a team captain.
In a game where Notre Dame could never stack opportunities, the Irish simply couldn't stop the opposing team from a game-winning drive for back-to-back weeks and fall to 0-2. It appears as though it would take an insurmountable climb for this team to recover, but simply they just don't appear to have guts.
The backbone of the Irish for the last 10 years has been its stout defense that flies all over the field and buries teams into submission. This year's unit has simply shown nothing to demonstrate that identity, and to be fair, the defense has no identity. Missed tackles, empty assignments, and poor communication have sunk the Irish in two games that they've had every right to win.
Let's look past basically the entire game and simply eye-in on the last drive. A 34-yard pass over the middle that jumpstarted the drive, a penalty on 3rd & 16 (which would've turned into 4th & 16) that gave the Aggies fresh life inside the 10-yard line, and a 4th & Goal touchdown from the 11-yard line that ended the Irish's hopes.
There are many fingers to blame. It's easy to blame Tyler Buchner for messing up the snap on the PAT, which turned Texas A&M's last second touchdown into a game-winning one instead of it being a tied game. It's easy to blame Karson Hobbs for having a bad game, and dropping what would've been a game-ending interception. It's easy to blame Christian Gray for not developing as a corner alongside two All-Americans for the past two seasons. Yet, in the end, the issue is with the program as a whole.
Notre Dame couldn't get it done when they had the chance sitting in their lap, basically spoon-fed to them.
On the offensive side of things, the Irish did everything they needed to do to win this game. Mike Denbrock utilized his two running backs masterfully, albeit a few too many wildcat formations, but it worked when it mattered the most. Jeremiyah Love finished with 94 rushing yards, 53 receiving yards and two total touchdowns. Jadarian Price ended this one with 68 rushing yards and two touchdowns as well.
CJ Carr finished his second career game going 20/32 with 293 passing yards, and a TD. While Carr still had his errors, he is still simply a redshirt freshman quarterback making his second career start. He is continuing to develop and is leading this team towards the opportunity to win games.
On the special teams front, the blocked punt and the PAT cancel out and subsequently the advantage it would give the Irish is a moot point.
This game was a carbon copy of the heartbreaking loss of the 2023 Ohio State game but is somehow worse because it displays the lack of growth that has been made in the program. One can't rest its hat on the national championship appearance anymore. The Irish are 0-2 and a team that simply isn't elite, which isn't acceptable for a program that wants to be atop the nation's best.
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