Will the Irish keep fighting after bad start in 2025?

Notre Dame suffered its second straight defeat of the season. A 41-40 heartbreaker against Texas A&M off a game-winning touchdown from Aggies tight end Nate Boerkircher. The Irish's second 0-2 start under head coach Marcus Freeman since 2022. 

Since Notre Dame is an independent school, their shot at the College Football Playoff is a mere dream. They only face one ranked opponent to wrap up the season, which will not be enough to get them any bids from the committee. This comes as a surprise for a team that was just in the National Championship game in January.

The Irish's special teams unit started the game off hot by blocking the first punt by Texas A&M to score and take an early 7-0 lead. However, Notre Dame was never able to pull away from Texas A&M. A failed fourth down conversion late in the third quarter with 3:35 left set up the game-tying field goal for the Aggies. 

Texas A&M’s dual threat quarterback Marcel Reed caused problems for the Irish all game. He ran up and down the field all game and Notre Dame had no answers. He finished the game with only a 45 percent completion rate on 17-of-37 passing, but still managed to get 360 yards through the air with two touchdowns. Reed also ran the ball seven times for 37 yards, averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

Notre Dame scored a touchdown to go up 40-34 with 2:53 left in the game. A botched point after attempt by holder Tyler Buchner left the door open for a Texas A&M game-winning drive. The Aggies did just that and drove all the way down the field to score and win the game.

No. 25 USC is on Notre Dame’s schedule, and they just beat a conference opponent in Purdue to start the season 3-0. If Notre Dame can win out, there is a chance that they could luck their way into the Playoff, but it would take a lot of breaks for that to happen. 

Again, this is a long shot, but anything is possible with the Playoff committee.

Notre Dame faces Purdue next week at home as they seek their first win of the season (3:30 p.m., NBC).