COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No Texas A&M football coach ever had a better shot at making a good first impression than Mike Elko, who nevertheless said before Saturday’s opener that if he’d had his druthers, he’d have preferred a debut against something other than seventh-ranked Notre Dame.

The Aggies’ first 14 coaches broke in against the likes of Sam Houston, Southwestern, Trinity, Austin College, a half-dozen high school teams and the Houston YMCA.

Only six A&M coaches had the misfortune to start out against a ranked team, and, of those precious few, R.C. Slocum owned the lone W.

Still does.

Notre Dame denied Elko’s bid to match the patron saint of Aggie coaches when Riley Leonard led an 85-yard fourth-quarter drive for a 23-13 win over the 20th-ranked Aggies in front of 107,315, fourth-largest crowd in Kyle Field history.

“You deserved better,” Elko said in a public apology to the faithful.

“We didn’t give it to you.”

A&M’s upset hopes died when Conner Weigman’s fourth-and-2 pass was broken up and nearly became his third interception, which tells you what kind of night it was.

And if that didn’t, this did: Weigman lost his lunch at halftime.

“Just got a little sick,” is how Elko put it.

“Puke and rally.”

Nice.

Weigman’s struggles in his return from a broken foot in the fourth game last year will be a point for Elko to revisit this week. He completed just 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards, a couple of picks and a 54.7 passer rating. Couldn’t get in a rhythm, Elko said, adding they must find ways to make him more “comfortable.”

Of all the issues the new boss figured to face early, I’m thinking this wasn’t one of them. Then again, Notre Dame will present problems for a lot of teams this fall, and not just one under new management.

Previous administrations didn’t do Elko any favors. Jimbo Fisher, fresh off maybe the most ballyhooed/hooted contract in college football history, drew Northwestern State in his 2018 debut. Of course, the next week he got second-ranked Clemson and lost, 28-26. A harbinger of sorts. Under Jimbo, the Aggies were good but never quite good enough, a cardinal sin at those prices, not to mention in the merciless SEC.

Over the next five seasons, Jimbo had his moments. A 9-1 season in 2020 and an upset of top-ranked Alabama the next year come to mind.

But he never won more than nine games and alienated Aggies with fat wallets.

Having said that, if Weigman hadn’t gotten hurt, I’m not so sure Elko wouldn’t still be back at Duke. Before their starting quarterback’s injury, the Aggies were on their way to a 3-1 start. Weigman, who looked like the kind of quarterback that made Jimbo famous at Florida State, closed out last season with a 156.8 passer rating.

From that point, A&M won four of its last nine games, leaving Jimbo’s warts for all to see.

Elko won the job over Kentucky’s Mark Stoops — a clumsy bit of business, at that — because he’d been Aggie-tested as a former defensive coordinator and came up the Anti-Jimbo. He’s certainly likeable. Even his former Duke players couldn’t work up much of a mad against him when ESPN visited recently. The gist of the story was how Elko and Leonard, a former Duke coach and quarterback, would find themselves on the same field but different sidelines Saturday.

Elko maintained he’d rather have faced any quarterback than Leonard, listing so many admirable traits it wasn’t clear if he’d coached him or adopted him.

“I told him I loved him after the game,” Elko said. “I will be rooting for the kid for the rest of his life.”

Leonard took a little while to get things going, but, in the third quarter, he handed off to Jadarian Price, who cut to the left sideline and went 47 yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 13-6 lead. Notre Dame penalties (11 for 99 on the night) helped the Aggies pull even. A hands-to-the face moved A&M to the Irish 21, where Stanford transfer EJ Smith — Emmitt’s boy! — ripped off a 14-yard run to the 7. A pass interference penalty in the end zone put the Aggies at the 2, whereupon they took a battering ram approach to a 13-13 tie.

But Leonard, who finished 18 of 30 for 158 yards and rushed for 63 more, took all of the steam out of the crowd on a hot night with his 85-yard march in the fourth.

“We learned we have glimpses where we are a good football team,” offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said, “but we need to show we can strain every play, every drive to be successful.

“We beat ourselves, mentally and physically.”

As a former defensive coordinator, Elko was offended that the Aggies gave up 198 yards rushing. As a head coach, he should have been mad that he didn’t get the same considerations his predecessor did, and I’m not talking about the contract.

By the way: Jimbo revealed this week that he’s not just sitting on that $75 million the Aggies owe him. He’s co-hosting a show with a couple of his ex-players on SiriusXM. In the press release, he said, “I love talking about football almost as much as I love coaching.” We’ll take his word for it. Frankly, half of what he said I couldn’t follow, and the other half wasn’t worth the chase.

This is Elko’s job now, to have and to hold, at least for a while. Saturday was proof that he has his hands full. On the bright side, not every game will be as difficult. Next week, in fact, brings McNeese. It’s not the YMCA, but it’s the best athletic directors can do these days.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

A Democratic state politician in Texas is flipping to the Republican Party for her final four months in office.

State Rep. Shawn Thierry published a statement to social media on Friday decrying the Democratic Party’s march into the “progressive abyss” after she lost her primary for supporting a GOP-led bill protecting minors from gender transition procedures.

“The Democratic Party has veered so far left, so deep into the progressive abyss, that it now champions policies that I cannot, in good conscience, support — policies like promoting sex changes for children during a vulnerable stage of their lives, and dismantling Title IX protections for women in sports,” Thierry wrote.

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Thierry said because of her break with the values of her party, she will serve her final few months in office as a member of the GOP.

“I now stand with the party of Lincoln, the party that fought to preserve our Union and fought to end the atrocities of slavery,” she added.

Thierry lost to primary challenger Lauren Ashley Simmons during a runoff election in May. 

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A major factor in her failure within the Democratic Party is believed to have been her support for a 2023 Republican bill that barred gender transition for minors.

“Mothers around our country from all backgrounds, races, and communities understand that it’s our sacred duty to preserve the innocence of our children, protect them from being sexualized, and sterilized,” Thierry wrote. “To respect universal truths, and to uphold the rights of biological women as defined by science, nature, and common sense.” 

State Representative District 146 Candidate Lauren Ashley Simmons speaks to volunteers from Equality Texas and union members before heading out for a round of door-knocking in the afternoon in Houston. Simmons defeated Thierry in a Democratic run-off election in May. (Yi-Chin Lee/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

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“I will not be alone; I will be with millions of courageous women and men of good conscience, who are willing to place people over political ideology,” she concluded.

The 2024 college football season begins in full with Week 1, and there might not be a juicier reunion than the one taking place when No. 7 Notre Dame visits No. 20 Texas A&M in a huge non conference clash of playoff hopefuls Saturday night.

New Texas A&M coach Mike Elko will face his former quarterback from Duke because Riley Leonard transferred to Notre Dame soon after Elko left the Blue Devils for the SEC and College Station, Texas this offseason. Either Elko or Leonard will leave with a loss in their debut at a new school.

The first matchup between Notre Dame and Texas A&M in football since 2001 is getting the “College Gameday” treatment by ESPN and will be featured nationally in primetime on ABC.

The Aggies are looking to rebound from last season’s 7-6 campaign that saw former coach Jimbo Fisher get fired in November for a record buyout amount. Notre Dame wants to build on winning 10 games in coach Marcus Freeman’s second season and will count on Leonard’s dual threat capability to lead the program into the expanded postseason format.

Here’s everything else to know about the Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M college football game on Saturday night:

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College football 2024: Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M predictions

Covers.com: Take Notre Dame and the points

Ed Scimia writes: “It’s questionable whether Texas A&M has done enough to truly catch up with Notre Dame in terms of overall talent. On defense, the Irish have NFL-level talent, particularly in their secondary, something that could give (Texas A&M quarterback Conner) Weigman fits at the start of the season … I’m not convinced Texas A&M should be the favorite here, and neither are most predictive systems.”

Odds Shark: Back Leonard and the Irish at plus-money

Josie Costigan writes: “This may be the brightest spot for an upset in Week 1.”

Action Network: Take the over

Brad Cunningham writes: “The total is far too low for two offensive coordinators who are going to play at much faster tempos than these offenses have in the past. I have 54.2 points projected for this game, so I like the value on over 46.5 points.”

Dallas Morning News: Texas A&M wins a close one

Luke White writes: “Home field advantage could prove to be the difference as the Aggies land the final punch in a slugfest.”

College Football News: Texas A&M in a nail-biter

Pete Fiutak writes: “The critical difference will be Texas A&M’s defensive front, which is talented enough to disrupt (Notre Dame quarterback Riley) Leonard and force him to make a lot of big-time throws. It will be a tightly contested battle between two excellent football teams, but the atmosphere and energy at Kyle Field prove too tough for the Irish, who will lose their fourth straight road game against a ranked opponent.”

Winners and Whiners: Take Notre Dame +2.5

Mark Ruelle writes: “The Irish have a very favorable schedule this season and realize the enormity of this opening game against the 20th-ranked Aggies. The Aggies have a ways to go to improve upon an offense that was just 101st in the country in red zone efficiency last season. The Aggies will be a team that no one wants to play later in the season but the Irish are catching them early and should be the team that is more equipped to win out of the gates.”

Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M odds, lines

The Texas A&M Aggies are favorites to beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in Saturday’s Week 1 college football matchup, according to the BetMGM odds. Looking to wager? Check out the top college football betting apps in 2024 offering the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024.

Odds as of Thursday morning

• Spread: Texas A&M (-3)
• Moneylines: Texas A&M (-150); Notre Dame (+125)
• Over/under: 46

How to watch Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M

Date: Saturday, August 31

Where: Kyle Field, College Station, Texas

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

TV: ABC

Stream: ESPN+, Fubo, Sling TV

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