The Texas A&M football team is quickly rising through the AP Top 25.

Following last night's thrilling 41-40 win over Notre Dame in South Bend, the Aggies jumped from 16th to 10th in the AP poll. Last year, Mike Elko's first as head coach, it took until late October for A&M to enter the top 10.

But last year is also when Elko and the Aggies lost their season opener in College Station to Notre Dame 23-13. This year, the Aggies walked into South Bend, overcame a late score by the Irish, and capitalized on a botched Notre Dame PAT to score the game-winning touchdown and extra point with 13 seconds remaining.

The win over Notre Dame, which began the season ranked sixth in the country and was No. 8 entering its matchup with A&M, is among the best of any team in the country this season, which is why it is no surprise to see the Aggies leapfrog over teams such as Iowa State and Oklahoma despite the latter two also winning Saturday.

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Through three weeks, A&M has proven resilient.

In Week 1, the Aggies, following a 75-yard UTSA rushing touchdown to start the second half and pull back within four points, A&M pulled away from the Roadrunners, scoring 21 straight points to put the game out of reach. The following week, after a competitive first quarter in which it led Utah State 10-6, A&M scored 20 unanswered before halftime and kept the other Aggies from getting within two scores the rest of the way.

But Saturday proved to be the biggest instance of adversity for A&M, which led 28-24 at the half but fell behind 40-34 with under three minutes to go. Unfazed by the moment, Marcel Reed led the Aggies' offense 74 yards over the course of 13 plays, including the 11-yard touchdown pass to Nate Boerkircher to tie the game. Randy Bond made the game-winning extra point with 13 seconds left, which was far too little time for the Irish to get in range for a field goal.

After last night's game, A&M will get some much-needed rest before beginning SEC play on Sept. 27 against Auburn, which rose to No. 22 in the AP's latest rankings.