Texas A&M downs Notre Dame, changes narrative

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – As Texas A&M tight end Nate Boerkircher looked up for the football late Saturday night, he lost it in the Notre Dame Stadium lights. By the time he saw the ball, he was putting his large paws around it for the winning touchdown.

With the clock down to 13 seconds in the fourth quarter and 4th-and-goal from the 11-yard line, the wheel route led to the type of heroics that legions of boys across the country dream of making in one of the most iconic football stadiums in college football.

“I was blinded by the lights. I saw it right before it got to my hands,” he said after the Aggies beat No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40. “Luckily it was a great ball. … It just appeared.”

It was a magical, narrative-altering moment as the large contingent of Aggies in the sellout crowd of 77,622 roared while green-clad fans shook their heads in disbelief.

‘Picture perfect’

“That’s about picture perfect,” the 6-foot-4, 250-pound Boerkircher said. “Probably even better. … I didn’t even envision this. It’s special.”

The grad transfer had scored only one touchdown in his career. And that score was back in 2022 when he was a redshirt freshman at Nebraska. The play call was initially for quarterback Marcel Reed to throw a pass to KC Concepcion.

The Irish were bracketing Concepcion, though. Reed liked what he saw when he noticed Boerkircher against a linebacker.

“I felt like today our team … fought through the very end,” Reed said after completing 17 of 37 pass attempts for 360 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. “We played a full four quarters. Today we did what we’ve been talking about all offseason. We finished.” 

The No. 16 Aggies (3-0) had been reminded all week leading up to the game about their 11 years of road woes against elite competition. The victory snapped Texas A&M’s 14-game road losing streak against ranked teams since 2014. 

Texas A&M ends 11-year drought

These Aggies are different, though. They have two exceptional receivers – Mario Craver and Concepcion – who had their way against the Irish most of the night. Texas A&M also has a quarterback who refuses to believe the cynics who question his throwing ability.

Craver had seven catches for a career-high 207 yards, highlighted by an 86-yard touchdown. Concepcion had four catches for 86 yards. He was also wide open on a throw that Reed misfired, denying the Aggies a likely long touchdown. Le’Veon moss added three rushing touchdowns while rushing for 81 yards on 20 carries.

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These Aggies also had extra motivation after seeing safety Bryce Anderson carted off late in the second quarter after lying on the field for several minutes after making a tackle.

“It broke my heart,” said A&M defensive lineman Albert Regis, who admitted he started crying after seeing Anderson’s little brother crying on the field. “No mother wants to see their child hit, instantly drop and, like, not move.

“Then you know I started crying because you know it broke my heart because every play we kind of take it for granted. It motivated us even more to win this for Bryce because we knew if he was here he would be celebrating with us. And I’m sure wherever Bryce is right now he’s celebrating with us.”

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko appeared optimistic about Anderson’s injury status. 

Prayers for Bryce Anderson

“I think at this point all signs are positive,” Elko said of Anderson. “We haven’t done every diagnostic testing, but so far every test that we’ve run through has come back positive. We’ll continue praying that, that comes to a positive resolution, and we’re still far away.

“I just told (the players) what I think any coach would tell them: ‘Your brother just went down. You need to step up and you need to win this for him. To some degree it may have galvanized us.” 

The Fighting Irish took the lead early after Tae Johnson returned a blocked punt 20 yards for a touchdown less than two minutes into the game. Craver countered quickly with his 86-yard touchdown catch, breaking a pair of tackles on the way to the end zone. Down 17-7, the Aggies marched 75 yards with Concepcion making a pair of brilliant catches.

Le’Veon Moss capped the scoring drive with a one-yard run after Concepcion’s 45-yard catch. Earlier in the drive, Concepcion made a leaping 16-yard catch after Craver made a 12-yard catch. 

The Aggies took a 28-24 lead into halftime. Notre Dame took a 31-28 lead with 8:17 left in the third quarter. Randy Bond’s 43-yard field goal tied it at 33 with 44 seconds  in the third quarter. After trading field goals, Jeremiyah Love’s 12-yard touchdown run gave Notre Dame a 40-34 lead.

Costly 2-point try

The Irish failed their subsequent two-point conversion attempt with 2:53 to play. Reed marched the Aggies downfield before stalling somewhat with penalties and incompletions. Fortunately for the Aggies, a holding call gave them 1st and goal from the 10-yard line with 39 seconds on the clock.

Reed then lost a yard on first down. After a pair of incompletions, it was 4th and goal from the 11-yard line. Then he found Boerkircher on the left side of the end zone to tie the score. The subsequent PAT gave the Aggies the lead with 13 seconds to play.

“That was so special for me,” Boerkircher said. “Kind of when I caught that and a little bit of after that, I was just thinking of my journey as a walk-on, and how special this all is. I’m so thankful for everyone around me who helped me get to this point. It’s not me. It’s everybody that’s helped me.”