Excitement Surrounding Aggie Football Wasn't Too High; Expectations Were

Dropping their season opener to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home wasn't what the Texas A&M Aggies drew up over the offseason, but while the loss was a rude awakening, it was also revealing in a different way.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko arrives prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sp

A storybook has to have a good ending, right?

The Texas A&M Aggies' began in the offseason. A new coach with a familiar face helped ease the worries of a rampant trajectory Aggie football was threatening to take without an immediate change.

Mike Elko wasn't a Hollywood name the likes of Clemson's Dabo Swinney — who, interestingly enough, also had a rough season opener — but he was a homemade name with experience in Aggieland. He knew the ins and outs of the fanbase. He knew how to make it happy.

So, the end zones were painted for the first game of the season when Notre Dame came to town. The Aggies' white helmets made another appearance and Kanye West even made his way back to Kyle Field in the form of "Power," which helped, for a second, everything feel "okay" again.

That didn't last long.

The Aggies engaged in a defensive struggle with Notre Dame that ultimately created an open contest. It was either team's game to win, and the Fighting Irish, simply put, had more fight.

"Hats off to Notre Dame," the coach said in his opening statement following Texas A&M's 23-13 opening-night loss. "They came in here and they beat us. There was really no two ways around it."

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies coach Mike Elko high fives players as they exit the field during the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

New lids, new end zones and all, the Aggies fell short. After amplifying the moment and the stage that Saturday night was set to be, they ended up being in the opposite position they imagined themselves in. Instead of rising to the occasion, they fell.

And "everybody" watched them.

"I mean, yeah," Aggies linebacker Taurean York said when asked if Saturday evening was an opportunity lost. "You're on a big stage. ... Everybody around the world (was) probably watching this game tonight. You hate to lose it."

The Aggies would be remiss to glance over their primetime shortcomings in the past. For some, hearing the prime-time CBS theme on a Saturday afternoon — at 2:30, to be specific — brings about bad memories of missed opportunities against Alabama.

College GameDay, sans one double-overtime win over the Tennessee Volunteers in 2016, has been synonymous with an Aggies loss. Saturday's opener was no exception.

"It stings," Aggies offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III said. "It stings bad."

Yet, something about losing to the Irish — a team that was aptly ranked in the top-10 — as an underdog felt more disappointing for the Aggies than some of their other big-time losses. Losing to Notre Dame was a rude awakening, yes, but it was also revealing in different way.

What did it show?

The excitement surrounding Aggie football this season wasn't too high. Expectations were.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman, left, and head coach Mike Elko, right, arrive prior to the game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Bringing in a coach like Elko to replace a coach like Jimbo Fisher was a step in the right direction for the Aggies over the offseason. Elko is more-than capable to do the job and lead a team with as high of a standard as Texas A&M, but it's hard to hide the key bullet on his resume: Former Aggies D.C.

Bringing in a coach that the players were certain to love — because, of course, the squads that were around for his tenure as a defensive coordinator did — was the route the Aggies elected to take when rebuilding their fanbase's hope.

Bringing in Elko meant the Aggies were returning to their roots. All of the game-day accessories and fanfare made that clear, too, yet it was Notre Dame that relished in the newly-painted end zones more than Texas A&M. It was Notre Dame that left Kyle Field triumphant.

It was Notre Dame who strengthened its case as a College Football Playoff contender.

"To the Aggie fans," Elko said post-game, "thank you for showing up tonight. ... Thank you for making this a really special day. You deserved better, and we didn't give it to you."

He'd be right. The Aggies talked plenty about focusing on themselves and their brand rather than their opponents, and in a way, they accomplished that. The Irish didn't look overly impressive, Texas A&M just didn't look up to par.

It showed flashes of a strong defense, but the offense's stagnancy — and Conner Weigman's two interceptions — overshadowed those. In the end, the story of the Aggies' bout with the Irish was headlined by missed opportunities.

"The scoreboard showed they were the better team," Zuhn said, "but I don't think they were the better team. I think we beat ourselves."

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies defensive back Dashawn Fillmore (26) reacts during the second half against Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. / Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

The Maroon & White took the time to accept their defeat. As York went on to say, they'll be their own biggest critics. They'll tune out the outside noise that will almost certainly be stacked against them moving forward, but that's not anything new.

Unfortunately, neither is losing big-time games. The Aggies have a lot of work to do.

"For us to get this program over the hump, we're going to have to learn how to put ourselves in position to play the game the way we need to in those moments," Elko said. "We just didn't do that."

With 11 games left in the regular season, not all hope is lost if Texas A&M wants to make its case for a spot in the College Football Playoff, but expectations have to be reeled in. No longer are the Aggies a lock for the field, nor can they be deemed "likely," but they aren't out of it, yet.

The excitement was never the issue. And while it took a hit Saturday night, it remains palpable. It's now up to Elko and his squad to capitalize on what's left.

After all, every storybook has to have a good ending, right?