Mike Elko didn’t throw his quarterback under the bus, but Texas A&M’s coach couldn’t sugarcoat what was an awful showing for Conner Weigman in a 23-13 loss to Notre Dame at Kyle Field on August 31.
To his credit, Elko took the blame for his coaching staff not putting Weigman (12/30 passing with 100 yards and two INTs) in a position to succeed against a characteristically tough Fighting Irish defense.
"We got to go back to the tape and find out to put him in better situations to get him comfortable,” Elko told reporters postgame. “He was not in rhythm, and there was nothing easy. We kept trying. Just couldn't get there."
Texas A&M entered the game as slight favorites and kept things neck and neck until Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard, Elko’s QB while he was head coach at Duke, drove the Fighting Irish down the field just outside the red zone and running back Jeremiyah Love found the endzone on the ground from 21 yards out with 1:54 left in the game.
With the loss, the Aggies will fall in the rankings but still have plenty of chances left to make the College Football Playoff. Games against Missouri, LSU, and Texas threaten their chances of sneaking into the 12-team field, but they are lucky in that those games will take place in College Station.
Of course, before Texas A&M can even think about the postseason, they’ll need to sort their offense out. Generating 246 total yards is not a sustainable model and it won’t win many games.
It didn’t get the job done against a Notre Dame team that saw Leonard struggle under center himself (18/30 passing with 158 yards). How will that get the job done against a Texas team that looks every bit the contender many expected them to be during rivalry week?
