Saturday, September 13
South Bend, Ind.
6:45 PM
Texas A&M
3-0 , 0-0
41
at
40
Notre Dame
0-2 , 0-0
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
F
Texas A&M
7
21
3
10
41
Notre Dame
14
10
7
9
40
Team Stats
TAM
UND
Total Yards
488
429
Pass Yards
360
293
Rushing Yards
128
136
Penalty Yards
86
31
1st Downs
24
23
3rd Downs
4
7
4th Downs
1
2
TOP
26:53
33:07
1st Quarter
TAM 0, UND 7
UND - Johnson,Tae 20 yd punt return (Burnette,Noah kick)
TAM 7, UND 7
TAM - Craver,Mario 86 yd pass from Reed,Marcel (Bond,Randy kick) 2 plays, 90 yards, TOP 00:47
TAM 7, UND 14
UND - Price,Jadarian 7 yd run (Burnette,Noah kick), 7 plays, 75 yards, TOP 03:03
2nd Quarter
TAM 7, UND 17
UND - Burnette,Noah 22 yd field goal 11 plays, 38 yards, TOP 05:55
TAM 14, UND 17
TAM - Moss,Le'Veon 1 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 5 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:31
TAM 14, UND 24
UND - Love,Jeremiyah 36 yd pass from Carr,CJ (Burnette,Noah kick) 6 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:40
TAM 21, UND 24
TAM - Moss,Le'Veon 2 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:11
TAM 28, UND 24
TAM - Moss,Le'Veon 1 yd run (Bond,Randy kick), 7 plays, 47 yards, TOP 02:20
3rd Quarter
TAM 28, UND 31
UND - Price,Jadarian 17 yd run (Burnette,Noah kick), 5 plays, 29 yards, TOP 02:15
TAM 31, UND 31
TAM - Bond,Randy 43 yd field goal 6 plays, 25 yards, TOP 02:50
4th Quarter
TAM 31, UND 34
UND - Burnette,Noah 39 yd field goal 6 plays, 44 yards, TOP 01:36
TAM 34, UND 34
TAM - Bond,Randy 45 yd field goal 11 plays, 47 yards, TOP 04:55
TAM 34, UND 40
UND - Love,Jeremiyah 12 yd run (), 12 plays, 75 yards, TOP 06:13
TAM 41, UND 40
TAM - Boerkircher,Nate 11 yd pass from Reed,Marcel (Bond,Randy kick) 13 plays, 74 yards, TOP 02:28
Game Leaders
Passing Leaders
CMP
17
TD
2
YDS
360
INT
1
Players Mentioned
TE
/ Football
K
/ Football
WR
/ Football
RB
/ Football
S
/ FootballQB
/ Football
DT
/ Football
LB
/ Football
Photo by: Sydney Stevenson/Texas A&M Athletics
No. 16 Texas A&M Edges No. 8 Notre Dame in Instant Classic, 41-40
Sep 13, 2025 | Football
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Quarterback Marcel Reed connected with tight end Nate Boerkircher in the end zone with 13 second remaining before kicker Randy Bond converted the PAT to help lift No. 16 Texas A&M past No. 8 Notre Dame, 41-40, in a back-and-forth affair on Saturday night.
The victory marked Texas A&M's first win against an Associated Press top-25 team on the road since 2014 and its third victory over a top-10 team in the Mike Elko era.
The Maroon & White recorded 488 yards of total offense, averaging of 7.1 yards per play, marking the second consecutive game in which the Aggies recorded 450-plus yards of offense.
Reed finished his night 17-of-37 passing with 360 yards and two touchdowns, while adding seven rushes for 37 yards. Senior running back Le'Veon Moss anchored the ground game for the Aggies with three rushing touchdowns, all coming in the second quarter. The Walker, La., native totaled a team-best 81 yards on 20 attempts. Sophomore Mario Craver registered a career-high 207 yards receiving on seven catches, including a career-best 86-yard touchdown. The Birmingham, Alabama, native has now registered three-straight games with 100-plus receiving yards.
The Aggie defense recorded eight tackles for loss and two sacks in the win. Junior safety Marcus Ratcliffe led the defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior Scooby Williams notched the Maroon & White's first interception of the season in the second quarter that led to an Aggie touchdown. Graduate student Albert Regis tallied a career-high seven tackles, including one sack and one tackle for loss.
How It Happened
UP NEXT
Opening Statement:
"Yeah. I mean, obviously hats off to Notre Dame too. That was an unbelievable college football game. Two heavyweight teams throwing punches back and forth at each other from start to finish, all the way down to the wire. Couldn't be more proud of our guys. I don't know that that thing went to script in any way, shape or form to how you would script a win on the road. We just battled. We battled through a blocked punt. We battled through some procedure penalties. We battled through some coverage busts that created some open explosives for them. And we just kept fighting and we just kept fighting and we kept fighting and ultimately made the play we needed to make to win the football game on the road. And so, hopefully you guys won't have to ask me any more questions about whether or not Marcel can throw. That's what I really hope comes out of this win."
What was going through your mind on the last play, and did you guys get to change the play call since they called the timeout on 4th and goal?
"Yeah, we had a similar play call before the timeout. We changed the formation presentation of it and ran a very similar play to what we were going to call before the timeout. We wanted to honestly have something where Nate was running on the side because we kind of thought it was gonna be really hard to get it to Mario or KC. They had been kind of bracketing them the two previous plays. We felt like that would give us an option on the sideline if we needed it. And we did. And Marcel gave him a ball that he can go up and catch and he made a heck of a play."
If you could just further expound on the resiliency of your team…
"Yeah. I think when you want to become a championship-level program…and we're not there yet…we have a lot of work to do to become that. There's going to be moments like this though that are going to help springboard it, right? Moments where your guys just find a way to compete and battle through everything that's happening in a game and find a way to come out victorious. And it's been well-documented how long it's been since this program has gone on the road and beat a really good team. For us to do that on the road, in South Bend, at night, against a team that was obviously desperate to save their season tonight…I just think it's the step that we had to take to move forward. And that's all we did. We took one step forward tonight. And now we've got to rest and we've got to get through the bye week, and we've got to get a lot better as we head into SEC play with all of our goals in front of us."
Talk a little bit about Marcel's play in particular and his poise on that last drive…
"Yeah. I mean, it's the third time in a row…So if you now go through this, that's Auburn, that's the bowl game and that's this game. It's the third time in a row that he led us on a game-winning drive. And I said that all offseason, that that was a big piece of it--for him--was in those moments he has been really good. And it got overshadowed last year, obviously, because we lost those two games. But he has been really good in those moments and so we had a lot of confidence in him tonight."
On that final drive, especially when you get towards the red zone, what's going through your head?
"Just finish. I mean, we talk about it all the time, and it's been our word of the offseason, finishing. I feel like this season we haven't really played a full four quarters of football. And even though tonight wasn't our best football, I think we fought all the way through, and it went down to the last play offensively, to fourth down, and we converted."
When you connected on that touchdown, can you describe that feeling?
"Yeah, I mean, it felt great. It felt great. Going into that drive we already knew they missed an (extra point). If we score a touchdown and get (an extra point) we win the game. And then that being the last play, I mean, it's win or go home at that point. So, you know, I kind of just threw the ball up to Nate. It was a one-on-one matchup. They had kind of taken our two double posts that we wanted to get open. And so I had faith in him. He has arguably the best hands on the team. So I threw the ball up to him and he caught it for a touchdown."
Coach Elko said that the conversation about if you can throw the ball or not stopped with this game. Do you feel like that's the case from your performance tonight?
"I mean, I never really cared what people said about me throwing the ball. I know I can throw the ball. I didn't have the greatest completion percentage, obviously. But, you know, we got the ball out there. We had a lot of explosive plays. And I told people before, our offense is going to be explosive. That's the name of the game for us. So, I think we did a really good job of that today."
When you came here was this the moment you envisioned that would be possible for you to come here and make an impact like this?
"Yeah, when I got in the portal I talked with Coach Ellsworth, and we kind of talked about this vision together and what we could become. And I'm just so thankful for the guys in the tight end room and the team as a whole."
Marcel said the play wasn't necessarily for you, what were you looking for and when you see the ball what was your reaction?
"Yeah, on that wheel route, it's always an option versus man, especially if those two posts get covered up. And so I was just thankful he was able to give me a good ball to give me a chance to go win the game. And it worked."
Very few athletes would be able to experience what you experienced tonight. Take us through what that felt like. What does it feel like to do something like that at such a time in the game?
"I mean, that was so special for me. When I caught that and a little bit after the game, I was just thinking about my journey as a walk on and how special this all is. And it's… I'm so thankful for everyone around me that's helped me get to this point. I mean, it's not me. It's everyone who helped me."
Albert, you have been here as long as anybody, and you've had your fair share of heartbreak with game going the other way. What is it like for you to come in here and beat a top 10 team in the final 15 seconds?
"It's a great feeling. I mean, a blessing, truly, to endure all those hardships that I've been through when I first got here in '21, my freshman year. And to beat a team top ten in their home stadium, their first home game. I mean, it's a blessing."
So after the game, obviously you guys were celebrating, just what did that feel like?
"You know, all week as a D-line, we were saying walk in yo' trap, take over yo' trap. And that's exactly what we did. It wasn't perfect. I mean they're a phenomenal team. They've got athletes. They made plays. But at the end of the day, there's one winner and one loser."
How did you feel like you guys held up against Love and Price tonight?
"We did good. Could have been better. I mean they're athletes. They're going to make plays. That's what they're known for. I had the time of my life playing against them, playing against other great players. As an athlete, that fuels me because every play is going to be their best play. And you got to match the intensity and go above. So the whole time I was fueled by that, just knowing they have stars on their team, but we've got stars too. So then it comes down to the execution and the mindset of things."
The victory marked Texas A&M's first win against an Associated Press top-25 team on the road since 2014 and its third victory over a top-10 team in the Mike Elko era.
The Maroon & White recorded 488 yards of total offense, averaging of 7.1 yards per play, marking the second consecutive game in which the Aggies recorded 450-plus yards of offense.
Reed finished his night 17-of-37 passing with 360 yards and two touchdowns, while adding seven rushes for 37 yards. Senior running back Le'Veon Moss anchored the ground game for the Aggies with three rushing touchdowns, all coming in the second quarter. The Walker, La., native totaled a team-best 81 yards on 20 attempts. Sophomore Mario Craver registered a career-high 207 yards receiving on seven catches, including a career-best 86-yard touchdown. The Birmingham, Alabama, native has now registered three-straight games with 100-plus receiving yards.
The Aggie defense recorded eight tackles for loss and two sacks in the win. Junior safety Marcus Ratcliffe led the defense with eight tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Senior Scooby Williams notched the Maroon & White's first interception of the season in the second quarter that led to an Aggie touchdown. Graduate student Albert Regis tallied a career-high seven tackles, including one sack and one tackle for loss.
How It Happened
- Notre Dame's Loghan Thomas blocked a Texas A&M punt on the opening drive and returned the scoop-and-score 20 yards for a touchdown.
- Reed and Craver notched the longest play of their respective careers with an 86-yard receiving score to tie the game with 9:33 remaining in the first quarter.
- Junior running back Jadarian Price muscled into the end zone from seven yards out as the Fighting Irish regained the lead, 14-7, in the opening frame.
- Notre Dame began the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal, increasing the lead to 17-7.
- Moss scampered in the end zone following a 1-yard rush to cut the deficit to 17-14 with 12:33 to go in the first half.
- The Fighting Irish answered on the next drive with a 36-yard touchdown reception from Jeremiyah Love to keep it a 10 point game at 24-14.
- With 5:35 remaining in the opening half, Moss punched in a 2-yard rushing score, making it a 24-21 ballgame.
- Texas A&M then took its first lead of the game as Moss found paydirt for the third time in the quarter with a 1-yard rush, giving the Aggies a 28-24 edge.
- Notre Dame opened the scoring in the second half as Price scampered for a 17-yard rushing score to put the Fighting Irish back on top, 31-28.
- Bond drilled a 43-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter to even the score at 31.
- Notre Dame countered and booted a 39-yard field to take a 34-31 advantage early in the final frame.
- With less than three minutes to go in the game, Love scored his second touchdown on the night with a 12-yard rushing score. The Fighting Irish failed to convert the extra point due to a muffed snap, limiting the lead to just 40-34.
- The Aggies then drove 74 yards and on 4th-and-goal with 13 seconds left, Reed found Boerkircher in the end zone for an 11-yard receiving score. Texas A&M clinched the win on Bond's extra point.
- Texas A&M tallied its first win over a ranked non-conference opponent in a true road game for the first time since defeating No. 6 Penn State in Happy Valley, 27-14, on Sept. 27, 1979.
- The win marked the Aggies' first road win over an AP Top 25 opponent since beating No. 3 Auburn, 41-38, in Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2014.
- The win was Mike Elko's third over a top 10 opponent since taking the reins in Aggieland prior to the 2024 season (other wins were 41-10 over No. 9 Missouri and 38-23 over No. 8 LSU in 2024). Elko logged another top 10 win in 2023 in Duke's season-opener with a 28-7 win over No. 9 Clemson in Durham, N.C.
- Craver became the eighth player in school history to post a 200-yard receiving game after reeling in career highs of seven catches for 207 yards (29.6 average)
- Additionally, Craver became the first Aggie with a 70-plus yard receiving touchdown in consecutive games and became only the second Aggie to reach the century mark in three consecutive games (joining Ryan Swope, who did it in 2012).
- In only three games, Craver has totaled 443 receiving yards on 20 catches, surpassing his season total of 368 yards on 17 catches in 2024.
- LB Scooby Williams recorded the team's first interception of the season in the second quarter. It marked the second career pick for the senior and first since at Mississippi State last season.
- Bond scored 11 points, including the game-deciding extra point with 0:13 remaining, on a pair of field goals and a 5-for-5 effort on PATs.
- Bond has now achieved 12 career games with 10-plus points and surpassed the 300-point mark for his career.
- Bond's game-winner was his 124th straight successful PAT, which set a school record.
UP NEXT
- Texas A&M enters its first bye week of the season before returning home to face Auburn on Sep. 27. The Tigers are 3-0 to start the season following a 31-15 victory over South Alabama on Saturday.
Postgame Quotes: Mike Elko
Opening Statement:
"Yeah. I mean, obviously hats off to Notre Dame too. That was an unbelievable college football game. Two heavyweight teams throwing punches back and forth at each other from start to finish, all the way down to the wire. Couldn't be more proud of our guys. I don't know that that thing went to script in any way, shape or form to how you would script a win on the road. We just battled. We battled through a blocked punt. We battled through some procedure penalties. We battled through some coverage busts that created some open explosives for them. And we just kept fighting and we just kept fighting and we kept fighting and ultimately made the play we needed to make to win the football game on the road. And so, hopefully you guys won't have to ask me any more questions about whether or not Marcel can throw. That's what I really hope comes out of this win."
What was going through your mind on the last play, and did you guys get to change the play call since they called the timeout on 4th and goal?
"Yeah, we had a similar play call before the timeout. We changed the formation presentation of it and ran a very similar play to what we were going to call before the timeout. We wanted to honestly have something where Nate was running on the side because we kind of thought it was gonna be really hard to get it to Mario or KC. They had been kind of bracketing them the two previous plays. We felt like that would give us an option on the sideline if we needed it. And we did. And Marcel gave him a ball that he can go up and catch and he made a heck of a play."
If you could just further expound on the resiliency of your team…
"Yeah. I think when you want to become a championship-level program…and we're not there yet…we have a lot of work to do to become that. There's going to be moments like this though that are going to help springboard it, right? Moments where your guys just find a way to compete and battle through everything that's happening in a game and find a way to come out victorious. And it's been well-documented how long it's been since this program has gone on the road and beat a really good team. For us to do that on the road, in South Bend, at night, against a team that was obviously desperate to save their season tonight…I just think it's the step that we had to take to move forward. And that's all we did. We took one step forward tonight. And now we've got to rest and we've got to get through the bye week, and we've got to get a lot better as we head into SEC play with all of our goals in front of us."
Talk a little bit about Marcel's play in particular and his poise on that last drive…
"Yeah. I mean, it's the third time in a row…So if you now go through this, that's Auburn, that's the bowl game and that's this game. It's the third time in a row that he led us on a game-winning drive. And I said that all offseason, that that was a big piece of it--for him--was in those moments he has been really good. And it got overshadowed last year, obviously, because we lost those two games. But he has been really good in those moments and so we had a lot of confidence in him tonight."
Postgame Quotes: Marcel Reed
On that final drive, especially when you get towards the red zone, what's going through your head?
"Just finish. I mean, we talk about it all the time, and it's been our word of the offseason, finishing. I feel like this season we haven't really played a full four quarters of football. And even though tonight wasn't our best football, I think we fought all the way through, and it went down to the last play offensively, to fourth down, and we converted."
When you connected on that touchdown, can you describe that feeling?
"Yeah, I mean, it felt great. It felt great. Going into that drive we already knew they missed an (extra point). If we score a touchdown and get (an extra point) we win the game. And then that being the last play, I mean, it's win or go home at that point. So, you know, I kind of just threw the ball up to Nate. It was a one-on-one matchup. They had kind of taken our two double posts that we wanted to get open. And so I had faith in him. He has arguably the best hands on the team. So I threw the ball up to him and he caught it for a touchdown."
Coach Elko said that the conversation about if you can throw the ball or not stopped with this game. Do you feel like that's the case from your performance tonight?
"I mean, I never really cared what people said about me throwing the ball. I know I can throw the ball. I didn't have the greatest completion percentage, obviously. But, you know, we got the ball out there. We had a lot of explosive plays. And I told people before, our offense is going to be explosive. That's the name of the game for us. So, I think we did a really good job of that today."
Postgame Quotes: Nate Boerkircher
When you came here was this the moment you envisioned that would be possible for you to come here and make an impact like this?
"Yeah, when I got in the portal I talked with Coach Ellsworth, and we kind of talked about this vision together and what we could become. And I'm just so thankful for the guys in the tight end room and the team as a whole."
Marcel said the play wasn't necessarily for you, what were you looking for and when you see the ball what was your reaction?
"Yeah, on that wheel route, it's always an option versus man, especially if those two posts get covered up. And so I was just thankful he was able to give me a good ball to give me a chance to go win the game. And it worked."
Very few athletes would be able to experience what you experienced tonight. Take us through what that felt like. What does it feel like to do something like that at such a time in the game?
"I mean, that was so special for me. When I caught that and a little bit after the game, I was just thinking about my journey as a walk on and how special this all is. And it's… I'm so thankful for everyone around me that's helped me get to this point. I mean, it's not me. It's everyone who helped me."
Postgame Quotes: Albert Regis
Albert, you have been here as long as anybody, and you've had your fair share of heartbreak with game going the other way. What is it like for you to come in here and beat a top 10 team in the final 15 seconds?
"It's a great feeling. I mean, a blessing, truly, to endure all those hardships that I've been through when I first got here in '21, my freshman year. And to beat a team top ten in their home stadium, their first home game. I mean, it's a blessing."
So after the game, obviously you guys were celebrating, just what did that feel like?
"You know, all week as a D-line, we were saying walk in yo' trap, take over yo' trap. And that's exactly what we did. It wasn't perfect. I mean they're a phenomenal team. They've got athletes. They made plays. But at the end of the day, there's one winner and one loser."
How did you feel like you guys held up against Love and Price tonight?
"We did good. Could have been better. I mean they're athletes. They're going to make plays. That's what they're known for. I had the time of my life playing against them, playing against other great players. As an athlete, that fuels me because every play is going to be their best play. And you got to match the intensity and go above. So the whole time I was fueled by that, just knowing they have stars on their team, but we've got stars too. So then it comes down to the execution and the mindset of things."
Notre Dame Postgame: Mike Elko
Sunday, September 14
Notre Dame Postgame: Marcel Reed
Sunday, September 14
Notre Dame Postgame: Nate Boerkircher
Sunday, September 14
Notre Dame Postgame: Albert Regis
Sunday, September 14
