Notre Dame Hero Reflects on Saturday Night's Near-Mistake: Key Lessons Learned

Beaux Collins made the catch of the night to help Notre Dame beat Texas A&M, but very nearly gave it right back

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) catches a pass as Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Dashawn Fillmore (26) attempts to break up the play in the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Fresh off a relieving third down conversion, just the second of the night for Notre Dame, quarterback Riley Leonard found wide receiver Beaux Collins for 20 yards that wound up getting the Irish just short of midfield with 4:15 left in regulation.

After replay confirmed the catch, Notre Dame took to the ground and pounded Texas A&M. Four plays later it capped the drive with a go-ahead score via a Jeremiyah Love 21-yard touchdown run.

But things could have gone south for Notre Dame in a hurry following that Collins catch. Collins was involved in a trash-talk battle with Texas A&M cornerback Will Lee III most the night but went as far as gently shoving the defender after the big catch. The officials didn't flag the episode but certainly could have.

Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins said the ref put his hand on his flag after his infamous shove of a Texas A&M DB but ultimately did not pull & throw it.

Collins: "That's the luck of the Irish right there."

He said the environment got the best of him. Learning experience. pic.twitter.com/H42iScXyMK

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 4, 2024

Collins met the assembled media at Notre Dame on Tuesday and recapped the situation that he seems to have learned from.

“We were jawing back and forth throughout the entire game, me and the DB,” Collins said. “It was kind of an out-of-body experience, but it can’t happen again. It almost cost us big-time.”

“That’s the luck of the Irish right there,” Collins said. “It was just in the moment, something I’ve never done before in my life. It was wild.”

“The ref walked up to me, and he was like, ‘Hey, man, you need to calm down. Blah, blah, blah,’ “ Collins said. “I’ve seen him around a couple games, but I didn’t have a conversation with him about it. I think they were just looking out, man.”

Significantly less has been flagged for 15-yards before and will again.

Collins and Notre Dame got the best of both worlds though - they got away with the shove that could have stunted the game-winning touchdown drive, and got a lesson to learn from for the next time a similar situation presents itself.

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