Texas A&M Ends Historical Program Drought vs. Notre Dame

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko spoke throughout the week about wanting to reverse his team's road woes, and boy did he back it up on Saturday night.

In a rematch of last year's season opener, the Aggies went on the road and beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 41-40 in an instant classic. Facing a fourth-and-goal with less than 20 seconds left, Marcel Reed scrambled and found tight end Nate Boerkircher for the tying touchdown, and Randy Bond nailed the go-ahead PAT immediately after.

It was a statement win for Elko and co., in more ways than one. Not only did they go on the road and beat the No. 8 team in the country and last year's runner-up, but they ended a pair of historic droughts.

Texas A&M Earns First Ranked Non-Conference Win in 46 Years

Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss (8) runs the ball during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

According to Texas A&M Athletics, Saturday marked the Aggies' first non-conference road win over a ranked opponent since Sept. 27, 1979, when they beat No. 6 Penn State 27-14 at Beaver Stadium. It also marked their first road win over any ranked opponent since Nov. 8, 2014, when they beat No. 3 Auburn 41-38 at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

As mentioned, the Aggies have struggled on the road in recent years, not having posted a winning record away from Kyle Field since 2014. With this victory, they took a big step toward becoming the team they want to be.

“I think when you want to become a championship-level program, we're not there yet, we have a lot of work to do to become that," Elko said. "There's going to be moments like this though that are going to help springboard it, right? Moments where your guys just find a way to compete and battle through everything that's happening in a game and find a way to come out victorious.

"It's been well-documented how long it's been since this program has gone on the road and beat a really good team. For us to do that on the road, in South Bend, at night, against a team that was obviously desperate to save their season tonight, I think it's the step that we had to take to move forward. That’s what we did, we took one step forward tonight."

The Aggies still have plenty of tough road games in store, as they travel to face Arkansas on Oct. 18, LSU on Oct. 25, Missouri on Nov. 8 and Texas on Nov. 28. However, they've now proven that they can go toe-to-toe with anyone away from home.