Notre Dame at Texas A&M (Final 7 Minutes)

talk more about that in a second the Irish trying to get a long drive going Leonard pinballs his way for about nine yards Albert reg just knocked him down yeah just real quick on Rogers I when I got into the booth with Brett musberger and you know guys like Bill and Rogers who know these rules better than anybody we'd have our seminar in August Rogers would come in and speak to us I just recommend to any analyst out there when you get an opportunity to talk to a person who can be a mentor in that area where there's nobody better Bill you're the best too but boy Rogers was just an outstanding person not just a great official well set on second and one they trap love behind the line scorton who made his name as a pass rusher strong in run support that's a huge play sets up third and five now when he saw the running back move usually that means the back's going this way so he's going to chase it watch him get underneath that potential block by the tight end Flanigan who's coming over I'll tell you we think about these guys on the edge his pass rushers cuz they do such a good job and they make a name for themselves with that but I'll tell you a big guy like scorton he can get in there against the run and make a big Play What a play from second and one to Third and five as the agies trying to get the football back right here Deon for in the game there in the back field play clock at three Leonard steps up delivers a strike for a first down an enormous conversion to great house as they keep the football and and you know what nap the left tackle who's had his hands full he holds on just long enough against that outside pressure good job of giv Riley Riley Leonard on his third down a chance to get his foot in the ground hitch steep into the throw and he puts it right on the money good job by the line there and a good throw by Leonard as well just their second third down converted all night that was a big one approaching four and a half minutes to play looking to throw on first down again the sideline a one-onone matchup a battle is won by Bo Collins on the edge as he beat will Lee and the Irish are at A&M territory or close to it well he had all kinds of time they go back to that one-on-one matchup pretty good coverage by Will Lee how about Bo Collins working back to the football woo he better be careful that could have been 15 the plays under review they're going to look at this because there may have been a bobble through the hands okay they can review whether or not it was a catch and now they're talking they're still talking you're so right though after the play that could have been 15 I know Collins is excited but it's shoving the back you can't do that can't get caught up I mean I know get hyped up but you can't physically push him May they've been going at it it's a heck of an effort high points the ball the question is does he have possession when his feet are down before he gets pushed out let watch here bill this will be a good one foot down there does he have it he tucks it there as his feet come up off the ground never lost Poss when he hit the ground I see the ball moving when he's back up in the air and then when he comes down he lands out of bounds so there's a good chance replay might maybe changing this to an incomplete pass terrific job to catch the ball as he was being shoved backwards say bobbles there but does he gain regain possession while his foot is down no I see him in the air gaining control and then Landing out of on his the rolling on the field stands okay well the second time tonight you thought maybe replay would overturn it they decide to call that a catch so it is a 20 yard gain bigger very interesting bigger picture comment the entire focus in the off season through recruiting and the portal was to get better on the perimeter better at wide receiver starting to see Bo Collins start to really show what he's capable of doing when when defenses going to leave him one-on-one against Corners he's going to have to win back into the boundary we're starting to see more of that here in the second half tall strong guy he's used that big frame to catch five balls tonight Leonard has become the leading rusher on the Irish and he scoots for another first down inside the 40 nice block by Pendleton on the left side there yeah this is the old pen and Pole where you're trying to pin the defense inside here off to the right pull the lineman around you got a numbers Advantage because you've got the quarterback who's got the legs to be able to run the football good block by those linemen fun to see these guys get a chance to pull and get around the corner going up against will e the corner just pushing them out of the way Irish in no hurry they can be very methodical here three and a half a couple of timeouts love up the middle runs through a tackle Jeremiah Love rambling down near the the Iowa are grabbing chunks now that's 18 more but they're mixing up the looks here Mike demock has to be very happy with what he's seeing by this offensive line we talked all game about the matchup and the in experience and the talent but just the youth I tell you what man we're watching in this football game Joe Rudolph the line coach got to be really proud of what this group has done collectively growing up came in with six combined career starts entering this game in this atmosphere against this defensive front there's Joe Rudolph the line coach they're stepping up when it matters that's a mistakes no doubt but beginning to assert themselves Love Again knocked down a drive that began way back in their own 15 yd Line run seven plays down in scoring position inside of two and a half to go A&M holding on to their timeouts you have the two-minute timeout also we're headed to that they're not going to run a play clearly here so it's like getting an additional timeout how about the big boys up front when he chips her on the table just stepping up yeah and Leonard as advertised T running the ball po two minutes to go in Kyle Field Irish in scoring [Music] position and blimp view of the fourth biggest stadium in America Good Year giving these beautiful aerial pictures celebrating the challenge of road games everywhere are you ready for the road good year more driven are the Irish ready for the road or Heather Leonard and her husband Chad Riley's parents are they ready for he can't even just like enough's enough I can't I can't watch well their sons game one of his oneyear Notre Dame career trying to drive the Irish for a victory here can they finish second down and nine love burst St in the middle love to the end zone and the Irish Take the [Music] [Applause] Lead now dad smiling again what a way to finish off this drive with the way this offensive line on this drive kind of took over and the backs being able to find just enough room there and the acceleration into the end zone taking a while hasn't Kirk to get this running game going Jeremiah Love touchdown jarian price had that long touchdown run Leonard for much of this game actually led the team in rushing yardage final two minutes now Notre Dame once again up by seven what a drive 85 yds Kirk CH there wasn't a ton of room here good block by Pendleton on the inside to kind of get the play started he's got a good inside block there to get a good push see the tight end 87 coming over from the right Cooper Flanigan to help out but really to me it's about the back at his feet he's patient he's patient bang he gets his foot in the ground look at that acceleration against those safeties have been making so many tackles and this time I think they're surprised by how quickly he shot out of the end at the back side of that hole for this touchdown Jeremiah love makes a living running between the tackles but he's got that burst too here's the progressive pylon cam as the Irish reclaim the lead and up in the section featuring the notame parents the Leonards hi let me say this let me say this for Texas A&M yeah you're down now but think about it I I don't think they purposely allowed that but you got all three timeouts and you're going to get the football back with at least a chance with the 154 to go so they didn't try to let him score but it worked out okay given the fact they preserve some time you got a chance here I don't think they were going to get their hands on the ball if Notre Dame didn't score they would have meled that clock down both Notre a touchdown runs have come from outside the Red Zone and now Conor Wegman who was so frustrated by having his season ended early last year that injury to foot against Auburn he's waited 11 months for this moment it's been tough sledding tonight against this veteran Stout defense now he's got to go the length of the field try to tie it and and I'm going to take the other end of it Noah Thomas Jana Walker Cyrus Allen Trey Watson the tight end who can get separation who can help wigman out here it's been a tough night for these receivers trying to make plays also Moss Out of the backfield eight has been mainly the their go-to guy to this game who can beat this Elite secondary Watson Schuler and Morrison and Greg wigman back pedals and throws it to the bench nobody open the other thing that's tough is now you're allowing this defensive front they know you're throwing the football and they're able to just come up with different games twists and things of that nature to try to get the pressure and make wigman feel it and throw off of his back foot not yet engineered a fourth quarter comeback at A&M pressure comes gregman has time but again a miscommunication nobody open Thomas was over there covered by Jordan Clark at it's third and 10 yeah Al golden is not holding back it's not like Al golden saying let's be conservative let's be smart he's bringing pressure he's dialing it up not worried about the cone is on the back end cuz he has that kind of confidence in his ability to cover and I don't blame him he should feel that way what a luxury to have right you can turn loose the pass rush because you trust your DBS that much even a backer has done a great job Kaiser walked out try to get it on the ground and getting out near the marker is moss he's a couple of yards short it'll be fourth down yeah they put that trips formation to the right Kaiser the middle linebacker walked out they didn't have the numbers inside so even though it was third and 10 still ran a football and got some big yards we got another injury here for A&M that's fou who stepped in at Center when nebu went out he's being looked at so what do you like coach fourth and two quarterback run is always in play in a Colin kin offense and Wegman is a willing Runner yeah I yeah I think Moss is is the answer if you're not going to run a quarterback to get the extra number then I think you got to think about eight because he's been able to shake the linebackers and win some of those one-on-one matchups L Dame came in ranked preseason number seven in the All State AP pole you can see the the competition faced by a lot of these top 10 teams Georgia extremely impressive Miami wouldn't be shocked to see the canes move up into the top 10 yeah yeah I think everyone's just kind of you know you have your thoughts on who these teams are really aren't going to know to me until you see them for three or four times by the way this is a story TJ Shanahan the true freshman hadn't taken a snap all game is now in on this pivotal fourth down play to snap the ball got to have two yards just two timeouts if they don't convert it won't be enough Moss is the back trying to get the Irish to jump they don't going to throw for it incomplete the Irish take over as Christian Gray jumped the route and this Elite secondary makes one play to get the football back yeah Chris you're you're all over it we know about Morrison we know about Xavier Watts but tonight we saw an entire secondary from Notre Dame and here he is this is going to be a glance route kind of a quick slant trying to use this as a rub but watch the reaction and how he jumps this route to get underneath that potential rub gets underneath it almost steps in front of it but most importantly on fourth down knocks that ball away and the Irish wasn't pretty doesn't matter went on the road in a tough environment and they're going to get a win Mike mickens coaches these DBS it's a smart experienced athletic deep group and they have been all over at the matchup I think they really felt good about was their secondary against A&M's unproven receiving for Clear Edge Notre D we you see oh big hit there hand it off to price backfield he's lucky he held on to the Scooby Williams blew that up you know Marcus Frey we caught it there at the end he said I told you you know reort referring to his team about move on to the next play we're going to have some adversity it's okay it's part of it let's move on to the next play let's stay positive it's been a big emphasis all a camp how would this young team go into Kyle field and deal with not being able to communicate like we said it wasn't the prettiest of Victories but they answered the Bell when they had to especially late in that drive with that offensive line stepped up with Riley Leonard and here he is right here talking to that's after that incompletion I told you I told you it's got to manage the situation they lost four in that play run one more play the agies can spend their final time out and then they can bleed down obviously keep it on the ground and keep the ball in the hands of 13 it's love dancing and almost poke fre they trying to drag him down by the shoe he burned a few more seconds as he got back near the original line of scrimmage and the last time I will be taken with a minute 21 to go Irish she'll be favored in all the rest of the games check the computers percentage chance to win I know computers don't decide the games but but check out what's ahead for them you could look at Louisville team that beat him a year ago Georgia Tech they play neutral Field Georgia Tech Louisville Florida State always a tough game the athletic ability and you know Florida State even with that loss they're still a great team other than that USC you go on the road to the Coliseum you don't have a conference Championship game that's now R their toughest game only two more true Road games all year yeah but this was the big hurdle for and and I think it it got their attention and a lot of people watched to see who they are as a football team and like I said I I don't care how it looked it was about trying to get out of here with a win and it's not done yet minute 21 with A&M out of their timeouts so they can run one more play you set the play clock and run that down love staying alive and Falls forward tell what you could try out the field goal kicker and try to make it double digits tell you the one thing you're a you're able to take away from what you do know about Notre Dame got a great defense without golden I mean that this defense is going to travel they're going to play well every week and you got a three-headed monster in that back field with love and price but also Leonard in that run game and Bo Collins and how the receivers grow as a group is going to be the real question on how Elite the offense potentially can become as as this season goes on it's going to be 33 seconds when this play clock runs down we got Mitch Jeter who's been a reliable kicker rarely missed at South Carolina he's made both of his field goal tonight you run the risk obviously of it getting blocked and run back but if he makes it it's ball game well he's been aggressive pretty pretty much all night as a head coach right I mean remember first drive to start the second half look at the LSU arriving in Vegas there are the Trojans making the much shorter trip beautiful Legion Stadium you and Holly and and REE Davis what you get your eye on there besides the tables in Vegas well the quarterbacks you know replacing Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams a big thing and also USC made all those changes on defense d Lyn steps in coming over from UCLA and just to see how much better they are so Mitch Jeter from 46 yds he hit from that same distance earlier also had a 26- yd Chip Shot trying to go three for three and put this one away can the yies get in there and block it create some Mayhem kick is driven right through and Notre Dame is going to come to Kyle Field and Come Away with a huge Victory to start this campaign and begin to build their resume as a playoff team I love Marcus Freeman's approach as a head coach tonight instead of shying away or being Ultra conservative he believes in his guys goes for it earlier in this game when a lot of people would question deep in his own territory what's he doing aggressive here oh boy what about what if they blocked up field goal oh no don't do that he trust the snap he trust the hold he trust the kicker and look it pays off for him so kudos to Marcus Freeman still a young head coach in his third year of believing in his guys in a in a very very tough environment and they come through tonight with a victory yeah the close call the troubling ending for Notre Dame fans against Ohio State in last year's opening game this another tough assignment they step up and take the challenge most believe this is as tough as it's going to get now it's going to be a challenge maintaining Focus managing expectations people like us are going to say no has the inside track to a playoff and we're not wrong they just have to handle business yeah I think he does a really good job of having a player's ears though and and I think if you're a Notre Dame fan your team grew up tonight especially that offensive line there's some question marks about this team how would Riley Leonard step up you got a new offensive coordinator how the new receivers is going to do again it wasn't perfect but the way they ended up ending this game I think your team grew up in recent years top 10 teams like Nick Sab and abama and Bryce young had their 19 game winning streak snapped in here LSU fell in here not Notre a they bring the seventh rank in here and they handled their business despite a lot of mistakes that he'll he knows he has to clean up those 11 penalties almost 100 yards they hurt themselves but they overcame it tell Riley Leonard gives this offense and gives this this this brand of Notre Dame football a completely different field his Poise is this environment his competitive Spirit overcoming some adversity leading the team you can see the reaction of the players around him the coaches that that's special to see not to mention his skill set oh yeah took care of the football and ran very effectively tonight that's what I I guess that's what I mean that that element of him being able to be a runner and just a kind of a approaches this this his job as a whatever it takes I got a throw I'll throw I got a run I got I'll run hand it off whatever let's just win the game can exhale finally offense number 55 10 yd penalty first down dukee season pretty much ended against Notre Dame there's Den Brock there game one for him as a play caller really had to earn his money because it wasn't easy yeah the manufactur stuff and they finally got going 10 points in the fourth quarter of the difference that's a football coach right there in that is that is a football coach he had Jaden Daniels last year and now he's in South Ben he had Desmond Ritter at Cincinnati been around some pretty special players that have that same skill set run and throw the yanes meanwhile it's going to get tougher they head into the SEC intent on having a strong season in year one for Elco but the schedule is pretty Dawning what what do you see from them looking ahead well I think for Mike Elco it's it's not just about tonight obviously it's about building culture and getting a team to be resilient and overcome their own set of things that they' got to deal with I think the biggest issue is in the SEC you better find some receivers I mean the defenses only going to get tougher for them it's not about Conor wigman it's about the entire group and especially what they can do to improve the wide receiver wigman bounces the ball into the turf A&M able to gain just 243 yards 100 passing yards against this Irish defense tonight saw coach say run the football he wants to get out of here yeah had a few other words but I'll just say run the ball please enough's enough well they got MCN then they got to go to the swamp you got Bowling Green Arkansas and Arlington so a chance to get their footing and begin to figure out what they've got on offense but Riley Leonard and the Irish come on the road and it's their first win away from home against a ranked SEC team they went to Knoxville many years ago