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The quest for the national championship for Notre Dame football started Saturday with a win over the Texas A&M Aggies, 23-13, on the road in what was a hard fought victory. There was an interesting storyline here which was Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard coming back from injury and beating his former Duke head coach Mike Elko who made his debut with the Aggies Sunday.
Some may call Notre Dame football's win over Texas A&M an ugly win, but it was a victory nonetheless that had the No. 7 ranked squad beat the No. 20 group. Leonard was with the Blue Devils for three seasons prior to 2024 with the Fighting Irish and even was a team captain for two under Elko as against him, he threw for 158 yards to go along with 63 on the ground as Leonard spoke highly of his team's outing according to ESPN.
“It's tough, especially in that environment,” Leonard said. “That's an environment that I'm sure none of us have really ever played in before. The SEC is different. Coming down here in Texas is different. I remember looking up and trying to see the end of the stands and you literally just can't even see the top. Incredible place to play. Very grateful for the outcome, obviously.”
Notre Dame football's Riley Leonard speaks on “rivalry” with Mike Elko
Facing his former head coach, Leonard in hindsight would recognize some of what Elko would run on third downs in terms of their defense which had the Fighting Irish go two for 12 on those situations. While there will always be a respect between the player and coach, Leonard would not hesitate in calling it a “rivalry” since they have competitive mindsets.
“I feel like there was a game within the game when playing him,” Leonard said. “Obviously, the third-down packages are always big and he got me a few times with the protections. He drew up some really good stuff … It's funny because we're playing Notre Dame versus A&M, but there's obviously a rivalry there, so to speak, with me and Coach. It's all love at the end of the day, but we're both very competitive.”
Elko feels the exact same way about the relationship with his former player, but he would not be honest if he didn't say he enjoyed the experience of facing Leonard because of the result.
“It wasn't fun,” Elko said. “I knew it wouldn't be. He made a bunch of big-time plays. … He did what he did and made enough plays to win the football game. I told him I loved him after the game. I will be rooting for that kid for the rest of his life.”
Notre Dame football's Riley Leonard with high expectations for team
This could be the start of a possible undefeated season for the Notre Dame football team as according to ESPN, they are favored to win every other game on the schedule. But with the uncertainty of college football, anything can happen, but Leonard does believe the win Saturday was the start of something great.
“I feel like if we can go into this environment and beat a team like that, that's coached as well as they are, I feel like that gives us all the confidence in the world to go into any environment in the country,” Leonard said.
The Fighting Irish's next game will be against Northern Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 7.
