It was a disappointing first game for Mike Elko as the head coach of the Texas A&M football program, as the Aggies lost 23-13 to Notre Dame at home on Saturday, and although the game was tied at 13 late, his team was unable to come away with the win. Elko revealed his message to the locker room after the loss.

“I told the locker room for us to get this program over the hump, we have to put ourselves in the position to play the game the way we need to, and we didn't do that tonight,” Mike Elko said, via ESPN.

When it comes to why Texas A&M football suffered the loss in the end, it was the running game, as Notre Dame reached 198 rushing yards on 34 attempts for 5.8 yards per attempt. The Aggies rushed for 146 on 38 attempts, giving them 3.8 yards per attempt.

Jeremiyah Love averaged 6.5 yards per attempt on 14 rushes, recording 91 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Riley Leonard had 63 yards on 12 rushes, and Jadarian Price had 44 yards and a touchdown on eight attempts. In the end, the Irish's defense performed well enough to get the win on the road in a hostile environment.

Quarterbacks struggle for Texas A&M and Notre Dame football

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The quarterbacks on both sides did not perform particularly well. For Notre Dame, Leonard completed 18-of-30 passes for 158 yards. That was good enough for the win, as Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman really struggled, completing 12-of-30 passes for 100 yards while throwing two interceptions as well.

Both of these quarterbacks are hoping to put together big seasons to maximize their chances of going high in the 2025 NFL Draft. Riley Leonard comes over from Duke, while Conner Weigman is hoping to build on some of the flashes he showed a year ago before he suffered a season-ending injury.

While Weigman struggled mightily on Saturday, all is not lost. Notre Dame is a very talented defense, and it is a unit that made Caleb Williams look bad last season. With the 12-team playoff, Texas A&M can still have a successful season by playing well against SEC opponents.

Coming up next for the Aggies is a home game against McNeese, followed by a road game against Florida the week after. That road game against Florida will be huge, as the Gators suffered a rough blowout loss at home against Miami on Saturday. If the Aggies want to be serious in the SEC this season, they will have to get a win in that game.