While some national analysts predicted Texas A&M to defeat Notre Dame on the road, it’s safe to say that more than half of those who cover college football for a living saw the Aggies leaving South Bend with a W. Well, the unthinkable happened, as coach Mike Elko and his talented offense marched down the field in the final seconds to score one of the more memorbale touchdowns in program history, resulting an an exciting 41-40 victory.
Sitting at 3-0 heading into the bye week, the focus has unsurprisingly been on a missed holding call during starting quarterback Marcel Reed’s game-tying touchdown pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher. Still, as we all know, potential flags are missed throughout every game.
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Focusing on Texas A&M’s positive takeaways, USA TODAY Sports writer Paul Myerberg chose the Aggies as one of his “winners” after Week 3, joining Georgia Tech and for A&M QB Haynes King, Georgia, West Virginia, Vanderbilt, Michigan QB Bryce Underwood, and North Carolina HC Bill Belichick.
“Beating No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 in South Bend thanks to a touchdown on fourth down with 13 seconds left is a montage-worthy moment in A&M history. For this specific year, the No. 15 Aggies were able to pull down the victory that eluded Mike Elkoâs first team and will have a huge non-conference win to show off to the playoff selection committee. Quarterback Marcell Reed hit on just 17 of 37 attempts but made big play after big play, including the game-winning touchdown to transfer tight end Nate Boerkircher. Transfer receiver Mario Craver had 207 yards and a score.”
Much discussion surrounding Marcel Reed’s accuracy has been overblown, as Mike Elko and OC Collin Klein’s focus against Notre Dame’s tough secondary was explosive plays, which resulted in Mario Craver’s historic day through the air, averaging 29.6 yards per reception. At the same time, fellow transfer wide receiver KC Concepcion also came up with four huge receptions for 82 yards, averaging 20.5 yards per catch.
The following two weeks will be focused on addressing the defensive issues that allowed over 400 yards and 40 points, particularly in the secondary, before hosting No. 22 Auburn in Kyle Field on Saturday, Sept. 27.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: USA TODAY Sports names Texas A&M football Week 3 ‘Winner’
