Unpacking Notre Dame's victory over Texas A&M | Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz | NBC Sports

WELCOME BACK TO JEN CFB. I'M JESSICA SMATANA. LUCY RHODIN IS HERE. FRESH OFF HER TRIP. TO COLLEGE STATION LUCY. I'M SO, SO, SO DISAPPOINTED IN YOU AND TAILOR, FIRST OF ALL, BECAUSE I WOKE UP SATURDAY MORNING AND ALL I SAW WALL TO WALL ON SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEOS OF YOU IN TEXAS, A&M GEAR AND LIKE A CUTE LITTLE COWBOY HAT DOING TEXAS, A&M YELL PRACTICE OR WHATEVER. MIDNIGHT YELL, I DON'T KNOW, IT JUST MADE ME REALLY SAD THAT YOU COMPLETELY ABANDONED YOUR FRIEND AND HER TIME OF NEED AND ANXIETY, TO BECOME A TEXAS A&M. THAT WAS ALL AI. THAT WAS NOT ME. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT. THIS VIDEO EDITING STUFF. IT IS. WOW, REALLY TAKEN OFF? I WOULD EVER. YOU SUPER DID. I'M TEMPTED TO JUST SHOW UP. I'M TEMPTED TO JUST SHOW UP AT LASSO IN A CYCLONES JERSEY THIS WEEKEND. I'D BE HAPPIER THERE. BACK. TRANSPARENCY. I WENT INTO THE WEEKEND WANTING TO ROOT FOR NOTRE DAME. I HAD A T-SHIRT. I HAD A HAT AND THEN ME AND LUCY WENT INTO AGILAN OUTFITTERS AND EVERYTHING CHANGED. THAT WAS ACTUALLY THE BEST STORE I'VE EVER BEEN IN. LIKE MY ENTIRE LIFE PERIOD, SET THE SCENE FOR US THEN BECAUSE YOU GUYS WALKED INTO COLLEGE STATION, AND YOU WERE YOUR YOUR HEARTS WERE OPEN. YOU WERE, I MEAN, LUCY. I KNOW YOU, YOU LIKE TO BUY STUFF. SO I I FIGURED YOU WERE GOING TO BUY SOME TEXAS A&M STUFF, BUT YOU WERE WHAT IMPRESSED, UH, OVERWHELMED INTRIGUED, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO KYLE FIELD AND TO TEXAS? HEY, AND I'M IN GENERAL ON A GAME DAY WEEKEND. KYLE FIELD IS AWESOME. IT IS FAR, AND AWAY 1 OF MY FAVORITE PLACES WE'VE EVER EVER BEEN. IT REMINDS ME OF PENN STATE STADIUM JUST IN THE WAY LIKE THE STADIUM IS SET UP BUT FAN WISE, IT'S REALLY HARD TO COMPARE IT TO ANYTHING ELSE BECAUSE IT'S SO UNIQUE JUST IN THE SENSE OF TRADITION AND THE WAY THEY CHEER AND JUST LIKE ALL THE WEIRD LITTLE QUIRKS THAT ARE ALSO VERY CULTY THAT LIKE GO INTO AN A&M GAME DAY. IT WAS A SUPER AWESOME EXPERIENCE BUT I PROBABLY WOULDN'T GO BACK FOR A MINUTE JUST TO LIKE DECOMPRESS BECAUSE I WAS LIKE THIS IS THIS IS CULTY AS HELL. I CAN DEFINITELY SEE WHY PEOPLE BUY INTO IT, 100% REALLY INTERESTING. TAYLOR, YOU MENTIONED TO ME, THERE WAS A MOMENT WHERE YOU KNEW TEXAS A&M WAS GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE IN THIS GAME. CAN YOU SHARE THAT ON ARE NOTRE? DAME'S ABOUT TO COME OUT OF THE TUNNEL AND I SEE MARCUS FREEMAN. HE HE'S KIND OF LIKE ANTAGONIZING THEM. GIVING THEM A LITTLE PUMP UP, HE'S LOOKING AT HIS PLAYERS. AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON I WAS LIKE, I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT TEXTING HIM RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I HAD TEXAS IN MONEYLINE. AND THEN THE SECOND MOMENT WAS WHEN CONNER WEIGMAN WAS JUST THROWING UP OVER HIMSELF AND I WAS LIKE THIS IS NOT THE QUARTERBACK. I WANT TO BE BACKING RIGHT NOW. YEAH THAT WAS BAD. I'M CURIOUS WHAT IT WAS LIKE BOOTS ON THE GROUND WATCHING THE GAME IF YOU EVER FELT LIKE, UM, YOU HAD ANY SORT OF FEELING IT WAS GOING TO BE A GO A SPECIFIC WAY, LUCY BECAUSE THE CROWD WAS DEFINITELY A FACTOR IN IT, ESPECIALLY IN THE FIRST HALF AND GOING INTO HALFTIME. THE SCORE WAS ONLY 666, IT WAS NOT A HIGH SCORING GAME. IT WAS 2 DEFENSIVE SORT OF BATTLING IT OUT FOR A WHILE UM UNTIL PRETTY MUCH THE FOURTH QUARTER IN NOTRE, DAME HAD A COUPLE GOOD DRIVES AND PUT THE GAME AWAY AND THEN ICED IT WITH THE FIELD GOAL AT THE END. UM BUT JUST FROM YOUR PERSPECTIVE, LIKE WHAT WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE THERE AND DID YOU THINK THAT TEXAS A&M THIS THING? I FELT LIKE A&M WAS IN IT. JUST STRAIGHT UP LIKE VIBES WISE WHERE LIKE WHEN YOU'RE IN A STADIUM LIKE THAT AND ATMOSPHERE LIKE THAT. THEY CAN LOSE LIKE TEXT SAYING M IS GOING TO WIN THIS GAME. I THINK TAYLOR PUT IT PERFECTLY. I FEEL LIKE I WAS WATCHING AN IOWA GAME WITH THOSE OFFENSES WHERE I WAS LIKE, AH, I JUST DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS GOING TO GET DONE. LIKE, THIS IS WIEGMAN, WAS SO TERRIBLE AND THEN TED CRUZ SHOWED UP. AND I WAS LIKE OH THIS IS JUST ALL BAD VIBES FOR AN ML AND YOU AND VIRAL NEWS OUTLETS ASKED YOU FOR I FELT LIKE A&M WAS IN IT. AN ML AND YOU AND VIRAL AND ONLY 1? AND I WAS LIKE, HELL YEAH. I'LL GIVE YOU A COMMENT AND THEY WERE LIKE WE DON'T WANT IT ANYMORE. WOW, JOURNALISM IS YOUR TIME. HAS GONNA BE? I THINK I WAS GONNA, MY PLAN WAS TO, LIKE, PLAY IT OFF AS LIKE MY BIT WAS THAT I KNEW THE TEXT SAYING, M WOULD LOSE BECAUSE HE WAS THERE. ALSO, THE BIT OF THAT HE SMELLED BAD. SO I WAS LIKE THERE'S SO MUCH LIKE OPPORTUNITY TO BE FUNNY AND I RESPONDED LIKE THEY EMAILED ME LIKE 3 IN THE MORNING. SO I WAS LIKE, WELL OBVIOUSLY I'M NOT GOING TO RESPOND TO YOU AT THAT POINT AND THEN THEY WERE LIKE, THIS IS, YEP, YOUR MOMENT'S OVER. HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SMELL BAD? I WOULD ASSUME SO I DIDN'T OKAY. SO TEXAS A&M LOSES AT HOME TO NOTRE DAME. WE WON'T SPEND TOO MUCH TIME ON IT BUT OBVIOUSLY YOU GUYS WERE THERE. IT WAS 1 OF THE GAMES OF THE WEEKEND. NOTRE DAME MY ALMA MATER. THEY CAME THROUGH WITH A HUGE WIN, DESPITE A 1 OF 1 OF THE WORST CALLS THAT I'VE EVER SEEN IN A COLLEGE FOOTBALL, GAME OF, THE FIRST DRIVE AFTER HALFTIME RILEY. LEONARD QB, KEEPER CROSSES THE FIRST DOWN LINE AND THEY MARK HIM LIKE A HALF YARD BACK AND THEN THEY REVIEW IT AND THEY'RE LIKE, NOPE, WASN'T A FIRST DOWN. HAVE A SPECIFIC THING HALFTIME RILEY. LEONARD QB, I WONDERING IF YOU GUYS HAVE OR LIKE SOMETHING GOES THE WRONG WAY FOR YOUR TEAM. BECAUSE I REALIZE THIS WEEKEND, I HAVE 1 AND I DO IT A LOT WHEN I'M WATCHING GAMES LIKE THIS. AND IT'S LIKE A VERY SPECIFIC PHRASE THAT I SCREAM AT MY TV. MINE IS I LOOK AT THE TV AND I GO OFF. I JUST SCREAM THAT AT MY TV AND I DID IT IN THE SECOND HALF OF THAT GAME BECAUSE I WAS SO MAD AT THAT SPOT. MOVING ON THAT'S WHAT IT IS. HALFTIME RILEY. LEONARD QB, GUM THAT'S WHAT IT IS. THE LUCY SAYS GUM NOTRE, DAME 1 UM MAYBE I A TOUGH ROAD AHEAD FOR TEXAS A&M IF THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO FIGURE OUT SOME OF THEIR OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES ON THE FLIP SIDE OF THAT NOTRE DAME'S GOT A VERY GOOD DEFENSE AND TEXAS. A&M ALSO HAS A VERY GOOD DEFENSE AND I THINK THEIR DEFENSE IS PROBABLY GOOD SO WHAT IS YOUR, HOT. TAKES HERE, MOVING ON IN A LITTLE BIT BUT LIKE LUCY IS THE SEASON OVER FOR TEXAS A&M GETTING STARTED? NO. I MEAN LIKE I THINK THAT'S KIND OF BEEN THE WEIRD THING. WE'RE FORGETTING IN THIS GAME IS. YES, TEXAS. A&M LOST. YES. CONNER WEIGMAN WAS REALLY BAD. THIS IS MIKE ELCO'S HEAD COACHING DEBUT AT A&M. SO LIKE HE'S TAKING IN A NEW SYSTEM 1 THAT JIMBO JUST KIND OF LIKE RAN INTO THE GROUND. SO FOR THEM TO COMPETE WITH NOTRE DAME. THEY THE WAY THEY DID IS REALLY IMPRESSIVE UM THE QUARTERBACK POSITION. MAYBE HE'S BETTER. WHO KNOWS? BUT LIKE THE THING WITH A&M IS LIKE THIS SEASON WAS ALWAYS GOING TO BE AN ADJUSTMENT, BUT YOU HAVE SO MUCH MONEY AS A UNIVERSITY THAT WHEN PORTAL TIME COMES BETTER. YEAH. WELL, THEY ARE GIVING A LOT OF THAT MONEY TO JIMBO FISHER BUT GO YEAH. WELL THEY ARE GIVING A TO AND WITH THAT NOTRE DAME, OVERESTIMATED NOTRE DAME'S OFFENSIVE LINE GOING INTO THIS GAME OR UNDERESTIMATED THEM BECAUSE IT WAS LIKE, 6 COMBINED STARTS AND THEN THEY JUST CAME OUT AND DOMINATED WHERE EVERY TIME RILEY, LEONARD RAN WITH THE BALL OUTSIDE OF THAT FOURTH DOWN, WHERE HE GOT CALLED SHORT, WHICH CLEARLY DIDN'T IT? FELT LIKE IT WAS A GUARANTEED LIKE 6 YARDS EVERY TIME. YEAH, IT IT ACTUALLY WAS SHOCKING, BECAUSE IT FELT LIKE THE RUN GAME WAS STIFLED SO MUCH IN THAT GAME. BUT NOTRE DAME, CARRIED THE BALL. I THINK, I THINK IT WAS 5.8 YARDS PER CARRY AND RUSH FOR ALMOST 200 YARDS IN THAT GAME WITH THEIR 2. REALLY GOOD BACKS. RILEY LEONARD OBVIOUSLY OPENS ANOTHER UH SORT OF DOOR FOR FOR THE NOTRE DAME, OFFENSE WITH HIS RUSHING ATTACK ON HIS LEGS. AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT TAYLOR. I THINK THAT UM TO NOTRE DAME'S CREDIT, MIKE DENBROCK HAD A REALLY GOOD GAME PLAN AND I THINK THAT HE SCHEMED AROUND A SORT OF INEXPERIENCED OFFENSIVE LINE REALLY WELL AND HELPED THEM OUT WITH SORT OF SOME PROTECTIONS FROM AND RUNNING BACKS AND SUCH. SO ANYWAYS, I WAS VERY HAPPY ON SATURDAY NIGHT. I WENT TO BED A VERY HAPPY LITTLE BOY. JUST SCROLLED UP IN MY LITTLE BED SMILING. YOU YAY, NOTRE DAME WON 1 OF THESE GAMES THAT WE LIKE TYPICALLY DON'T WIN ESPECIALLY ON THE ROAD AGAINST AN SEC SCHOOL. WE DON'T PLAY A LOT OF SEC SCHOOLS ESPECIALLY TO START THE SEASON. SO I THINK IT HAD BEEN LIKE 20 YEARS OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT