A classic in South Bend: a missed kick, a 13-second drill, and a stunned crowd

One play flipped the night on its head. Notre Dame’s missed extra point late in the fourth quarter cracked the door open. With the game hanging by a thread and just 13 seconds to work with, Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed needed one drive to change the story. He got it, rolling right and firing a dart to tight end Nate Boerkircher in traffic for the winning touchdown, sealing a 41-40 road shocker over No. 8 Notre Dame in a sold-out home opener.

The finish capped a breathless, back-and-forth game between ranked teams that felt like a season-defining moment in mid-September. The Aggies, ranked in the mid-teens in the major polls and now 3-0, left South Bend with the kind of win that reshapes expectations. Notre Dame, now 0-2, walks away with more questions than answers after owning early control and still finding a way to lose by one.

Notre Dame looked sharper early. Running back Jeremiyah Love sliced up the Aggies with burst and balance, piling up 94 rushing yards and 53 receiving yards with two scores. The Irish stretched a 17-7 second-quarter lead behind his work and steady chunk plays, feeding off a loud home crowd that had every reason to believe the opener would tilt their way.

Then the game flipped. Texas A&M landed two haymakers before halftime, outscoring Notre Dame 21-7 the rest of the second quarter to take a 28-24 lead into the break. The spark came from wideout Mario Craver, who torched the Irish secondary all night. His 86-yard touchdown sprint was a clean illustration of the speed gap on the edge—one cut, a burst up the sideline, and Notre Dame was chasing shadows. Craver finished with seven grabs for 207 yards and the kind of highlight tape that travels.

Reed was the constant. He didn’t only make throws; he made problems. His mobility stressed Notre Dame’s linebackers and forced safeties to hesitate. Even when the Irish brought heat, Reed bought time and turned would-be sacks into off-schedule gains. The Irish defense never found a comfortable answer to his dual-threat rhythm.

How the game swung and what it means for both teams

The second half felt like a pendulum. Each time one side grabbed momentum, the other stole it back with a response. Field goals traded places with chunk plays, and special teams quietly started to matter more than anyone wanted to admit.

Notre Dame’s missed PAT became the hinge point. It took a likely overtime scenario off the table and forced the Irish to defend a one-point margin against an offense that had found its groove. When Reed got the ball for the final push, the Aggies didn’t look rattled. They looked ready.

Key sequences that tilted the night:

• Notre Dame’s early 17-7 surge, powered by Love’s balance and the run game setting the tone.
• Craver’s 86-yard lightning strike, which flipped field position, confidence, and the scoreboard in one snap.
• A&M’s late-second-quarter burst to lead 28-24 at halftime, shifting the pressure squarely onto the Irish.
• Multiple third-down escapes by Reed, turning broken plays into drive-sustainers.
• The missed Irish extra point in the fourth, which set up the one-point margin that ultimately decided everything.

Notre Dame’s offense did enough to win on most nights. Love was the best player on the field for stretches, and the Irish mixed runs and screens to try to slow A&M’s pass rush. But the defense leaked explosives, especially on the perimeter and over the top. Missed tackles turned medium gains into long ones, and double moves kept showing up as trouble spots. Those breakdowns are the kind that unravel tight games against ranked opponents.

On the other sideline, A&M didn’t play perfect football, but it played opportunistic football. The Aggies leaned into tempo when needed, didn’t blink after early setbacks, and used Reed’s legs to soften the edges. Craver’s night will grab the headlines, but the late throw to Boerkircher took calm and patience. Reed extended the play, trusted his tight end’s frame, and put the ball where only his guy could make a contested catch.

Situational football separated the teams. A&M’s late-game execution—protection holding up for one more second, receivers winning leverage, Reed keeping his eyes downfield under pressure—showed a group comfortable in chaos. Notre Dame’s special teams miscue and a handful of coverage busts became the cracks that the Aggies widened drive by drive.

The setting mattered, too. A sold-out Notre Dame Stadium is supposed to squeeze a visiting quarterback, and it did for a while. But as the night wore on, A&M handled the noise and the moment. Those final minutes felt quiet in a way only stunned crowds can feel.

For the Aggies, this is the definition of a signature road win under head coach Mike Elko. It’s not just the ranking next to Notre Dame’s name—though that helps. It’s the way A&M responded after falling behind, the way its speed showed up in space, and the way a first-year starter-level quarterback looked like a veteran with the game on the line. Expect a rankings bump and, more importantly, a belief bump inside that locker room.

For Notre Dame, the record is the reality: 0-2 with a missed chance at home. The loss doesn’t erase the positives—Love’s production, sustained drives, and spurts of defensive physicality—but it narrows the path forward. To stay in the national chase, the Irish have to clean up explosive plays allowed and tighten special teams. You can survive one mistake in September. Two or three in a one-point game will cost you everything.

Craver’s emergence changes how opponents will defend A&M in the weeks ahead. Safety help will shade his way, and that can open windows for the run game and intermediate routes. Reed’s dual-threat profile forces coordinators to commit a spy or risk more broken plays. That kind of choice is exactly what this offense wants to create.

The box score will say a one-point game decided by a kick and a final throw. The tape will say it was about pace, space, and who handled pressure. A&M did just enough of each. Notre Dame did not do enough of any of them at the end.

Call it a September classic. It had the early surge by the home favorite, the long touchdown that turned the stadium into a hush, the momentum swings that made every possession feel like the last, and the kind of ending that makes neutral fans jealous they weren’t there. For A&M, it’s a launchpad. For the Irish, it’s a warning: when every detail matters, every detail has to be right.