The No. 20 Aggies scored on two of their first three possessions but did little else right in the 23-13 defeat. Both the offense and defense struggled mightily in the 2024 season opener.

"You deserved better, and we didn't give it to you," Elko said to the more than 107,000 fans that filled Kyle Field.

Things looked like they were going to be better early on, as quarterback Conner Weigman connected with wide receiver Cyrus Allen for 15 yards on the game's opening play, then hit tight end Tre Watson for an 18-yard completion to get the Aggies to the Notre Dame 24. But open running back E.J. Smith couldn't haul in a slightly off target pass from Weigman on 3rd and 3 and A&M had to settle for a for a 34-yard field goal from Randy Bond.

Notre Dame marched right back down the field to tie the game on Mitch Jeter's 46-yard field goal, a drive that was helped by safety Dalton Brooks' targeting penalty on sliding quarterback Riley Leonard (18-30, 158 yards; 63 yards rushing), which moved the ball to the A&M 35.

The Aggie offense came out and started rolling again, moving to midfield and appeared to have a first down on third and short after Weigman picked up 4 on a quarterback sneak. But wide receiver Jahdae Walker was called for a false start, and the Aggies could not convert on 3rd and 6.

Notre Dame quickly went 3 and out, giving the Aggies the ball back. A&M moved the ball to the Fighting Irish 32 before a false start by guard Chase Bisontis made a 3rd and 2 into a 3rd and 7 that the Aggies could not convert. Instead, Bond was called on to attempt a 49-yard field goal, which he made to give A&M a 6-3 lead.

A&M forced another Notre Dame punt and seemed to be in control of the game before Weigman (12-30, 100 yards) made the first of two massive mistakes. He overthrew a wide open Noah Thomas on A&M's first play of the drive, and it the errant pass was picked off by Notre Dame cornerback Adon Shuler, who returned the ball to the Aggie 29.

A&M's defense stood up and forced a 26-yard field goal from Jeter to tie the game at 6.

The two teams would trade punts before the Aggies got the ball back with 1:49 left in the half and a chance to take the lead. But Weigman underthrew tight end Theo Ohrstrom and was picked off by safety Xavier Watts, ending the drive and sending the teams into the locker room tied at 6.

"The challenge tonight was they were going to play us in man all night," Elko said. "So there's not a lot of easy access throws to get (Weigman) comfortable and get him in rhythm. People are going to have to win to do that, and we just weren't able to get it going."

A&M's offensive woes were compounded after halftime, as the Fighting Irish began to successfully run on the Aggie defense. After the two teams turned the ball over on downs near midfield, it looked like the Aggies had the advantage after an offensive pass interference call put Notre Dame in a 1st and 25 at their 42. Two plays later, disaster struck as running back Jadarian Price broke free on the left sideline for a 47-yard touchdown run that included multiple missed tackles by A&M defenders.

"I feel like the breakdown was me. I missed the tackle on the long touchdown," linebacker Taurean York said. "And of course, I know they ran for 200 yards."

But the Aggies were able to muster enough offense to mount a 10-play, 65-yard drive that ended up with their first touchdown of the season, a 1-yard run by Le'Veon Moss (20 carries, 70 yards). The drive was helped by an illegal hands to the face penalty on Notre Dame's Howard Cross III and a pass interference penalty in the end zone on corner Jaden Mickey.

With Kyle Field rocking, the Aggie defense forced a quick punt from Notre Dame, giving A&M the ball back on their own 15 with 8:32 left. After a quick 3 and out, punter Tyler White boomed a 61-yard kick that left Notre Dame at their 15 with 6:32 to go.

With the game on the line, the Fighting Irish marched 85 yards, with 56 of those coming on the ground. Running back Jeremiyah Love ran in from 21 yards out with considerable ease to put Notre Dame up 20-13 with 1:54 left in the game. A last-second field goal by Jeter provided the final margin.

"It was a litany of things," Elko said of A&M's inability to stop the run. "I thought we could have done a better job up front controlling the line of scrimmage for sure. We misfit some things. I think that created some of the large runs."

A game that ended up being another embarrassment on national television, with the offense playing flat and the defense not living up to the hype, left the Aggie players frustrated.

"It was all on us. We just beat ourselves. There's really nothing else to it," offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said.