Tag: 2024 Notre Dame football

Here’s how the Notre Dame defense held Texas A&M’s QB in check

Here’s what the Fighting Irish defense did to stifle Texas A&M’s quarterback.

Notre Dame won a defensive struggle against Texas A&M 23-13 on Saturday, and what the Fighting Irish defense did to Aggies’ quarterback Conner Weighman is a big part.

Pro Football Focus gave Weigman the worst passing grade in the nation, with a 28.0 mark.

The Aggies overall offensive grade wasn’t much better at 29.0

Give the credit to the Notre Dame defense, which despite self-destructing with some penalties that led to the Aggie’s game-tying touchdown, was stingy most of the night. The Irish D continued to bailout the offense, which was inconsistent early, until the offense was able to come up with the big plays needed to win.

https://twitter.com/travis_l_brown/status/1830303888433668466?s=46&t=NKxhO50JTypMTJmFyBYfiQ

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame moves up in AP poll after win at Texas A&M

Notre Dame moves up in this week’s AP Top 25 poll.

As expected, Notre Dame has moved up in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after winning 23-13 at Texas A&M to start the season.

The Fighting Irish were previously listed at number 7, and now the Irish rank fifth.

Notre Dame is behind Georgia, Ohio State, Texas, and Alabama. Ole Miss, Oregon, Penn State, Missouri and Michigan round out the top 10.

The Fighting Irish occasionally stumbled in a miscue-marred defensive struggle but managed to make just enough plays to overcome a stout Aggies defense and hostile Kyle Field crowd.

Florida State’s 0-2 start and USC beating LSU certainly have an effect on the poll, too. USC is 13th and LSU is 18th. Meanwhile, Florida State is on the outside looking in after falling to Georgia Tech and Boston College.

Despite a tough loss at Georgia, Clemson rounds out this week’s top 25.

https://twitter.com/ndfootball/status/1831033048928080082?s=46&t=NKxhO50JTypMTJmFyBYfiQ

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame tackle has surprising grade against Texas A&M

Notre Dame freshman offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp grades out well in debut.

Notre Dame offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp, a true freshman, graded out relatively strongly in the Fighting Irish’s 23-13 win over Texas A&M.

Knapp appeared to struggle at times, due to a combination of inexperience, a stout Aggies defense and the hostile environment of Kyle Field. He was flagged twice: once for a false start and once for a hold.

According to Pro Football Focus College, he graded out with an 82.3 pass-blocking grade and allowed one pressure in 36 pass-block snaps.

With Charles Jagusah out for the season with an injury, Knapp will have to step up and play well. While he appeared to have some of the typical freshman struggles in the opener, his grade is pretty good for a freshman playing in his first game, especially against a strong defense on the road in a loud stadium.

We’ll see if Knapp can build on it.

https://twitter.com/pff_college/status/1830344124949524556?s=46&t=NKxhO50JTypMTJmFyBYfiQ

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame is top five for at least two pundits

Notre Dame’s win at Texas A&M gives the Irish a boost in the eyes of analysts.

Notre Dame’s win over Texas A&M has given the Fighting Irish some more respect from two prominent pundits.

Joel Klatt and Danny Kannell have the Irish in the top four and top three, respectively.

Klatt puts the Irish behind Georgia, Ohio State and Texas and ahead of Alabama.

Kannell, meanwhile, puts Georgia and Miami ahead of Notre Dame, with Penn State and Ohio State in fourth and fifth.

Notre Dame’s victory was marred with mental miscues and too many penalties, but the Irish’s defense and some individual performances were likely strong enough for Notre Dame to rate highly in the analysts’ books.

Winning on the road in a loud, hostile environment like Kyle Field certainly couldn’t have hurt, either.

https://twitter.com/joelklatt/status/1830350122154401808?s=46&t=NKxhO50JTypMTJmFyBYfiQ

https://twitter.com/dannykanell/status/1830224981328056503?s=46&t=NKxhO50JTypMTJmFyBYfiQ

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

 

Late field goal seals Notre Dame win over Texas A&M

Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter put the dagger in Texas A&M with a late field goal that sealed the victory.

Field goals don’t get as much attention as touchdowns unless they win the game at the final gun. But Mitch Jeter’s kick with 30 seconds remaining sealed the deal for Notre Dame over Texas A&M.

Jeremiyah Love scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:54 seconds left in the game, but Texas A&M had one more chance to tie the game. The Aggies went four-and-out, however, giving the Irish the ball back with 1:34 to play. Notre Dame ran the ball three times and bled a minute off the clock before calling on Jeter, knowing that a successful field goal would put the game out of reach.

Jeter drilled it and the Irish are now 1-0 after winning their season opener.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Jeremiyah Love gives Notre Dame the late lead against Texas A&M

Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love scores late to put the Irish ahead against Texas A&M.

Notre Dame is currently in a dogfight with the Texas A&M Aggies at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, and Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love has given Notre Dame a late lead with a 21-yard touchdown run.

Notre Dame took the lead 19-13 after the run ended in the end zone with 1:54 remaining in the game. Mitch Jeter struck the extra point to give the Irish a 20-13 advantage.

It’s been a back-and-forth tilt all night, and now Notre Dame’s defense, which is ranked among the best in the country, will have to hold on against the Aggies on the road.

Jadarian Price gets Notre Dame going with score against Texas A&M

Notre Dame finally finds the end zone for the first time this season

If you had [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] as the first Notre Dame touchdown scorer of the season, congratulations.

The junior running back capped off an odd sequence with a 47-yard touchdown run to give the Fighting Irish a 12-6 lead over the Texas A&M Aggies with 6:50 remaining in the third quarter. Kicker Mitch Jeter converted the extra point to make it 13-6.

Notre Dame had fallen short of converting a fourth down by an inch or so, and then the Aggies passed incomplete when they faced fourth down. The Irish were hit with offensive pass interference but quarterback Riley Leonard found Beaux Collins for 11 yards to set up the long run by Price — who grew up in Texas.

https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1830066182369460540

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame pick by Xavier Watts keeps it even close to halftime

Another Notre Dame pick keeps Texas A&M off the board.

Notre Dame safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] kept the Texas A&M from getting points before halftime with a highlight-reel interception.

The Aggies had appeared to approach a late first-half drive with a conservative approach but then got aggressive shortly after Conner Weigman passed to Noah Thomas for 10 yards and ran the ball for 9 yards. With 46 seconds remaining, Weigman fired a pass over the middle and Watts read it all the way, making a diving catch for the pick.

The offense didn’t do much with it, in part because of a holding penalty assessed to left tackle Anthonie Knapp — a true freshman making his first start — but that was likely by design. With Notre Dame receiving the second-half kickoff, there was little reason to risk a turnover that could lead to Texas A&M points before the half.

The most important part about Watts’ interception is that it kept the Aggies from even getting a field goal before halftime. It would’ve been nice had Notre Dame got points, but keeping the score tied heading into the break is still a win.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame Week 1 highlight: Adon Shuler pick changes momentum

Irish safety Adon Shuler with a huge pick

With Notre Dame’s offense operating in fits and starts at the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies and the Fighting Irish needing a spark while trailing 6-3 with 11:15 remaining in the second quarter, sophomore safety [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] had his eyes in the right spot and sat on an overthrown pass for a momentum-shifting interception.

The Aggies had seemed to be feeding off the crowd as their defense had stifled the Irish and pre-snap penalties plagued the Notre Dame D. But Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman overthrew a pass and Shuler just sat in place and made the catch.

The pick ended the Aggies threat and led to Notre Dame getting the tying field goal.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey

Notre Dame football injury report versus Texas A&M has good news

Notre Dame appears to have a clean bill of health for the season opener at Texas A&M

The injury report for tonight’s game between the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies is out.

The Fighting Irish are visiting Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, and the Irish appear fully healthy, notwithstanding those players who have already been ruled out with long-term injuries.

Notre Dame has announced that all players listed on the two-deep roster are available to play tonight in the game, which will be broadcast on ABC at 7:30 p.m. EST.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that the Irish enter the game at something close to full health, since no games have been played yet. Given how important the season opener is, it’s nice to see that no key Irish players were hurt in practice in the lead-up to the game.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Tim on X: @tehealey