Leaders stepped up in Notre Dame football's signature win over Texas A&M

107,315 spectators squeezed themselves into Kyle Field on Saturday, ready to begin the college football season in College Station. And watch Texas A&M take on the Notre Dame football team.

It was 93 degrees at kickoff. With the humidity it felt like 103, even at 6:30 P.M. And yet, every Aggie fan stood shoulder-to-shoulder for three-and-a-half hours, screaming at the top of their lungs, singing "Mo Bamba" like their team depended on it. They embodied the role of "The 12th Man."

Welcome to football in Texas.

Marcus Freeman and his 7th-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish knew exactly what they were walking into. EA's College Football 25 has Kyle Field, appropriately, ranked as the toughest place in the nation to play. Many real-life SEC coaches will tell you the same.

Questions swirled around the offensive line, as Notre Dame lost sophomore LT Charles Jagusah for the season back in training camp. In his stead, the Irish sent out true freshman Anthonie Knapp to play the most important position on the line in arguably the most important game of the year.

No easing in, kid. This is as real as it gets.

Also making his Irish debut was senior QB Riley Leonard, who transferred from Duke to play at his great grandfather's alma mater. He takes over a team that had some disappointing losses in 2023, but now has its eyes set on the expanded College Football Playoff. Freeman put his trust in Leonard to get the job done this season.

But Week 1 seemed to determine whether or not the Irish would make it to the promised land, even before a single down of football was played.

No secret that Notre Dame football has an interesting media relationship

The Irish maintain their independence and forego a conference championship game. The phrase, "...or Notre Dame," is common terminology that make up playoff bylaws and bowl tie-in's. Many believe Notre Dame needs to join a conference and "play by the rules." Others believe Notre Dame's lackluster postseason record since the 1980s should eliminate them from any special treatment.

It is sometimes difficult to argue with the opposition.

Since Brian Kelly took over as head coach for the 2010 season, Notre Dame regained its place as one of the elite programs in college football. Under Kelly, Notre Dame put together five 10+ win seasons (though, the wins during the 2012 season were later vacated).

But the Irish never seemed to show up for the "big game."

Kelly's Notre Dame lost the first two meetings with Michigan in 2010 and 2011. The Irish went undefeated in 2012, earning a berth to the national championship game. Nick Saban and Alabama were waiting, dismantling the Irish 42-14. The Irish then lost in the 2015 Fiesta Bowl to Ohio State.

In Notre Dame's first CFP appearance in 2018, the 12-0 Irish were embarrassed by Clemson, 30-3. In 2020 COVID-19 pandemic season, Notre Dame competed in the ACC and got its revenge over Clemson: a 47-40 2OT win... against a Trevor Lawrence-less Clemson. When Trevor Lawrence rejoined the Tigers later that year in the ACC Championship, the Irish were blown out 34-10. Notre Dame was then blown out, once again, by Alabama in that year's CFP Semifinal, 31-14.

In 2021, Kelly left for LSU after an 11-1 regular season and Marcus Freeman took over for the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State. Notre Dame lost that game, then lost the first two games of 2022 (one of those being the season-opener against Ohio State). Notre Dame lost to Caleb Williams and USC later that year.

In 2023, Notre Dame once again lost to Ohio State (this time due to having 10 men on the field during the deciding play). The next game, they pull out a nail-biter against Duke and follow that game up with a loss to eventual-ACC-runner-up Louisville.

The Irish are determined to gain the respect they feel they deserve.

Texas A&M is no slouch. The Aggies are an SEC opponent with one of the best pass rushes in the nation. Mike Elko is a defensive mind that has turned around programs at every stop. QB Conner Weigman is going to have a tremendous season this year. The Aggies were the favorites heading into this one, even though they ranked 13 spots lower on the AP Poll.

And the Irish got it done, 23-13.

"That was a huge victory for our program," said Freeman after the win. "[Texas A&M] is an impressive football team that's going to win a lot of games. I've got a lot of respect for Coach Elko. That's a good group we just faced."

The game was a defensive stalemate. Both Notre Dame and Texas A&M came up with stop after stop in the redzone. Both offenses had to fight for every inch.

Riley Leonard had some shaky moments in this one. Multiple passes pointed out the miscommunication between Leonard and his receivers. Leonard told ESPN's Holly Rowe after the game that it took him "three quarters to figure it out," but that once he did he felt comfortable in the new system.

One thing you can say about Leonard, though: He was a baller Saturday night.

Every time Notre Dame needed a first down in some of the game's biggest spots, Leonard put his body on the line. He bulldozed his way to two conversions on his legs (should have been three, what an embarrassing botch by the referees in the third quarter). Leonard may not have found paydirt on every possession but he gave kicker Mitch Jeter a chance all night long, and that proved to be the difference for most of the game.

Notre Dame runningback Jeremiyah Love did not get off to the start he had hoped. When Notre Dame started their fourth-quarter drive with 6:23 left to go, Love had just 46 rushing yards on the night. Love's three attempts in the second half at that point were all stuffed at the line of scrimmage, all for no gain.

That drive would change everything.

Leonard and the offense marched down the field before handing the ball to Love on three straight plays: An 18-yard gain, a 1-yard gain, and a 21-yard touchdown to give Notre Dame a 20-13 lead. Love would nearly double his rushing total on the night, finishing the game with 95 yards.

And of course, you cannot talk about last night's victory without talking about the defense. Two picks, two forced turnovers on downs. Four forced punts. The Notre Dame defense is as advertised in 2024.

Was it a perfect win? No, Marcus Freeman said that himself in the postgame press conference. But the win was a gritty one, one that the program so desperately needed. For too long the Irish have been scrutinized, mostly due to their own shortcomings.

But this silences the Notre Dame football critics... for now. 11 games to go.