Make no mistake about it. The Texas A&M Wrecking Crew beat Notre Dame.
Yes, the offense put the Aggies up 7-0 after its first drive. And yes, on its second possession, the offense went 80 yards for a touchdown, its longest drive of the season. But it was the Wrecking Crew who started that drive and set the tone for the entire game.
After the Irish had driven to the A&M 13-yard line, sophomore cornerback Sean Weston intercepted a fluttering Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday pass in the endzone.
Just 1:47 after Weston’s pick, the Aggies took a 14-0 lead.
Weston’s interception was only the tip of the iceberg. Every time Notre Dame headed for a score, the Aggies came up with big plays to neutralize the threat.
The lone scoring drive by Notre Dame added up to only 21 yards and ended with a 47-yard field goal.
For the game, the Irish managed a meager 191 yards of total offense, the second straight week A&M has held its opponent to under 200 yards.
After allowing 113 yards in the first half, the red-hot Aggie defense turned up the heat, allowing only 78 yards in the final 30 minutes.
“I have high expectations for this football team, particularly with the defense,” said A&M head coach R.C. Slocum. “I take great pride in the defensive tradition, and they did a great job today.”
Notre Dame managed to get past midfield once in the half, driving to the A&M 40-yard line before A&M senior cornerback Sammy Davis intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Matt LoVeccio’s pass at the A&M 28 yard line with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter.
It was not just the secondary that stymied Notre Dame.
A&M’s defense also recorded six sacks for the second straight game, impressive considering the Aggies lost sophomore noseguard Ty Warren to a strained Achilles tendon in the first quarter. Warren, a staple of the Aggie defense, had recorded 18 tackles through the first three games of the season.
“[Warren] is a big, physical guy and he is arguably our best defensive player,” Slocum said. “We lost him pretty early, but our other guys did a good job of stepping up.”
After Davis’s interception in the third quarter, Notre Dame managed one first down as the Aggies forced four straight three-and-out series. The total yards for Notre Dame on those three drives was six yards.
It was a game that Carlyle Holiday, who was making his first career start, will not forget – assuming that he can remember it.
Holiday spent as much time on his back after getting hit as he did on his feet, as A&M’s vicious pass rush continuously cut through the Notre Dame’s offensive line. Not suprisingly, Holiday left the game in the second quarter with a sprained neck.
“I can’t recall being hit that many times in one game,” Holiday said.
Matt LoVecchio, Holiday’s replacement, did not fare much better. LoVecchio finished 6-for-12 with one interception and just 48 yards of offense, and was the second quarterback casualty for the Irish after taking a hard hit in the fourth quarter.
“We came out with a lot of fire and emotion,” said junior linebacker Brian Gamble. “Our mindset was that we were going to go out and stop them. We were more physical than they were today.”