and leonard as advertised has run the ball. >> kirk: poise. >> chris: 2:00 to go in kyle field. irish in scoring position. you have all the ingredients for this in your fridge but ask yourself this... of all the times you've made it at home... has it ever tasted like our mcmuffin? ♪ba da ba ba ba.♪ (soulful beat starts to play) all the parts you need, at the prices you want. guaranteed to fit, every time. so you can keep your ride-or-die, alive. i'm recruiting fans... who stay focused, and never miss a play. ♪ i'm always watching... always looking... to reward more full-time fans. ♪ labor day savings are here. let's put fall into motion and tackle turning colors. warm up welcomes and add life to lawns.

fall starts with labor day savings at the home depot. blocked from watching the big match? [referee whistle] save the day by using the bank of america customized cash rewards card and choose to earn 3% cash back on online purchases. like live streaming. some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. okay, let's get going. can everybody see that? like you know to check your desktop first, before sharing your screen. ahh...that is not. uhh, oh no. no no no. i don't know how that got in there. no. that, uhh. yeah, checking first is smart. okay, uhh. everybody get out. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. you're in good hands with allstate. people always say, “it is what it is.” until... it isn't. remember before ai when you had to type to search?

and when you couldn't ask your phone to do this? put these restaurants on a map. huh! what about taking a photo and... reimagining it? man... remember when all phones pretty much did the same stuff? until they didn't. (♪) get the all-new google pixel 9 pro phones at googlestore.com. ♪ (drum corps) ♪ c'mon rookie. you sleep down here. is that... wooh... woah, reggie bush! lost track of time in there... so, what's new? since you asked... umm... pretty cool! anything else? uh... ♪ (upbeat music plays) ♪ what is he doing?

he's watching the game. game announcer: touchdown! [nissan mnemonic] and let me tell you about >> chris: a blimp view of the fourth biggest stadium in america. good year celebrating the challenge of road games everywhere. are you ready for the road? good year, more driven. the irish ready for the road. heather leonard and her husband chat, riley's parents, they can't even look. >> kirk: just like enough's enough. i can't watch. >> chris: well, their son's game one of his one-year notre dame career, trying to drive the irish for a victory here. can they finish? 2nd down and 9. love bursts over the middle. love to the end zone! and the irish take the

>> kirk: now dad's smiling. what a way to finish off his drive. with the way this offensive line on this drive kind of took over, and the backs being able to find just enough room there with the acceleration into the end zone. >> chris: it's taken a while to get this running game going. jeremiyah love touchdown. jadarian price had that long touchdown run. leonard for much of this game actually led the team in rushing yardage. final two minutes now. notre dame once again up by seven. what a drive! 85 yards, kirk. >> kirk: chris, there wasn't a ton of room here. good block on the inside to get the play started. he has a good inside block there. see the tight end, 87, coming

over from the right. cooper flanagan to help out. really it is about the back of his feet. he's patient. gets his foot in the ground. look at the acceleration against the safeties that are making so many tackles. this time i think they're surprised by how quickly he shot out the backside of this hole for that touchdown. >> chris: jeremiyah love makes a living running between the tackles. here is the progressive pylon cam as the irish re-claim the lead and up in the section featuring the notre dame parents. the leonards. >> kirk: let me say this for texas a&m. yeah, you're down now. but think about it. i don't think they purposefully allowed that, but you got all three time-outs, and you are going to get the football back with at least a chance with 1:54 to go. >> chris: so they didn't try to let him score, but it worked out okay given the fact they preserved some time. >> kirk: yeah. you got a chance here. i don't think they're going to

get their hands on the ball if notre dame didn't score. they would have milked that clock down. >> chris: notre dame touchdown runs have come from outside the red zone. and now connor weigman, who was so frustrated by having his season ended early last year, that injury to his foot against auburn, he's waited 11 months for this moment. it's been tough sledding tonight against this veteran stout defense. now he's got to go the length of the field and try to tie it. >> kirk: i will take the other end of it. walker, cyrus allen, tre watson the tight end, who can get separation? who can help weigman out here. it's been a tough night for these receivers trying to make plays. moss out of the back field has been mainly their go-to guy. >> chris: who can beat this elite secondary? watson, shuler, morrison and gray. weigman back peddles and throws

it to the bench. nobody open. >> kirk: the other thing that's tough is now you are allowing this defensive front, they know you are throwing the football and they're able to come up with different things to get the pressure and make weigman feel it and throw off of his back foot. >> chris: not yet engineered a fourth quarter comeback at pressure comes. weigman has time, but, again, a miscommunication. nobody open. thomas was over there covered by jordan clark, and it's 3rd and 10. al golden is not holding back. it is not like he's saying, let's be conservative. let's be smart. he's dialing it up, not worried about the consequences on the other end because he has the ability to cover. i don't blame him. >> kirk: what a luxury to have, right? you can turn loose the pass rush because you trust your dbs that

much. >> chris: absolutely, yeah. >> kirk: even a backer has done a great job. kiser walked out. >> chris: trying to get it on the ground. and getting out near the marker is moss. he's a couple of yards short. it will be fourth down. >> kirk: they put that formation to the right. kiser walked out. they didn't have the numbers inside. even though it was 3rd and 10, still ran the football and got some big yards. we have another injury here for a&m. >> chris: it's faaiu who stepped in at center when nabou went out. he's being looked at. so what do you like, coach? 4th and 2. quarterback run is always in play on the offense. and weigman is a willing runner. >> kirk: yeah. i think moss is the answer. if you are not going to run the quarterback to get the extra number, then i think you got to think about 8 because he's been able to shake the linebackers and win some of those one-on-one matchups. >> chris: notre dame came in ranked number seven in the allstate ap poll. you can see the competition

faced by a lot of these top ten teams. georgia extremely ly impressive. miami, wouldn't be shocked to see the 'canes move up into the top ten. >> kirk: yeah. yeah. i think everyone is just kind of -- you know, you have your thoughts on who these teams are. really aren't going to know until you see them two or three times. tj shanahan hadn't taken a snap all game, is now in on this pivotal fourth down play to snap the ball. >> chris: got to have two yards. just two time-outs. if they don't convert, it won't be enough. moss is the back. trying to get the irish to jump. they don't. they are going to throw for it. incomplete. the irish take over as christian gray jumped the route. and this elite secondary makes one play to get the football

back. >> kirk: yeah, chris. you are all over it. we know about morris and we know about xavier watts. but tonight we saw an entire secondary from notre dame. here he is. this is going to be a glance route. it is a quick slant trying to use this as a rub. watch the reaction and how he jumps this route to get underneath that potential rub. almost steps in front of it. most importantly on fourth down, knocks that ball away. and the irish, wasn't pretty, doesn't matter. went on the road in a tough environment, and they're going to get a win. >> chris: coaches these dbs. it is a smart, experienced, athletic, deep group. they have been all over it. the matchup they felt good about was their secondary against a&m's unproven receiving core. clear edge notre dame. what do you say? >> kirk: oh, a big hit there. >> chris: handed off to bryson in the back field. >> kirk: yeah. he's lucky he held on to that. you know, marcus free maman, we

caught it there at the end. he said, i told you, referring to his team about move on to the next play. we will have some adversity. it's okay. it's part of it. let's stay positive. it's been a big emphasis all of camp how would this young people go into kyle field and deal with not being able to communicate. it wasn't the prettiest of victories, but they answered the ball when they had to when that offensive line stepped up with riley leonard. here he is right here. that's that incompletion. i told you. i told you. >> chris: he's going to manage the situation. he lost four in that play. run one more play, the aggies can spend their final time-out, and they can bleed it down. >> kirk: obviously keep it on the ground and keep the ball in the hands of 13. >> chris: it's love dancing.

and oh! kind of break him down by the shoe. he burned a few more seconds as he got back down to the original line of scrimmage. that will be taken with 1:29 to go. irish will be favored in all the rest of the games. check the computer's percentage chance to win. i know computers don't decide the games, but check out what's ahead for them. look at louisville, a team that beat them a year ago. georgia tech, they play at a neutral field. georgia tech, louisville, florida state always a tough game with the athletic ability. florida state even with that loss, they're still a great team. usc, go on the road to the coliseum. >> chris: that's now rated their toughest game. >> kirk: yeah. but this was the big hurdle for them. and i think it got their attention and a lot of people watched to see who they are as a football team. like i said, i don't care how it looked. it was about trying to get out of here with a win.

it is not done yet. 1:21 with a&m out of their time-outs. >> chris: so they can run one more play. reset the play clock and run that down. love staying alive and falls forward. >> kirk: i'll tell you what i -- >> chris: you could trot out the field goal kicker and try to make it double digits. >> kirk: one thing you are able to take away from notre dame, got a great defense with al golden. this defense will travel and play well every week. and you have a three-headed monster with love and price but also leonard in that run game. and beaux collins and how the receivers grow as a group is going to be the real question on how elite the offense potentially can become as this season goes on. >> chris: it is going to be 33 seconds when this play clock runs down. you've got mitch jeter who has

been a reliable kicker. rarely missed at south carolina. made both of his field goals tonight. you run the risk, obviously, of it getting blocked and run back. but if he makes it, it's ball game. >> kirk: wow, he's been aggressive pretty much all night as a head coach, right? remember first drive to start the second half. >> chris: well, lsu arriving in vegas. there are the trojans making the much shorter trip to beautiful allegiance stadium. you and holly and reese davis. what do you have your eye on there besides the tables in vegas? >> kirk: well, the quarterbacks, you know. replacing jaden daniels and caleb williams is a big thing. and also usc made all those changes on defense. i'm anxious to see how much better they are. >> chris: so mitch jeter from 46 yards. he hit from that same distance earlier. also had a 26 yard chip shot.

trying to go three for three and put this one away. can the aggies get in there and block it and create some mayhem? it is driven right through! and notre dame is going to come to kyle field and come away with a huge victory to start this campaign and begin to build their resume as a playoff team. >> kirk: i love marcus freeman's approach as a head coach tonight. instead of shying away or being ultraconserv ultraconservative, he believes in his guys, goes for it early in his game when a lot of people question it. aggressive here. oh, boy. what if they block the field goal? don't do that. he trust it is snap. he trusts the hold. he trusts the kicker. and, look, it pays off for him. kudos to marcus freeman, still a head coach believing in his guys in a very, very tough environment, and they have come threw tonight with a victory. >> chris: yeah. the close call, a troubling

ending for notre dame fans against ohio state and last year's opening game. this is another tough assignment. they step up and take the challenge. most believe this is as tough as it's going to get. now it is going to be a challenge maintaining focus, managing expectations. people like us will say notre dame has the inside track to a playoff, and we're not wrong. they just have to handle business. >> kirk: i think he does a good job at having the players' ears, though. your team grew up tonight. especially that offensive line. there are some question marks about this team. you have a new offensive coordinator, how are the new receivers going to do? again, it wasn't perfect. but the way they ended up ending this game, i think your team grew up. >> chris: in recent years, top ten teams like nick saban and alabama and bryce young had their 19-game winning streak snapped in here. lsu fell in here, not notre dame. they bring the seventh ranked in here and they handle their business. he knows he has to clean up

those 11 penalties. almost 100 yards. they hurt themselves, but they overcame it. >> kirk: i tell you, riley leonard gives this offense and gives this brand of notre dame football a completely different feel. his poise in this environment, his competitive spirit, overcoming some adversity, leading the team. you can see the reaction of the players around him, the coaches. that's special to see. >> chris: not to mention his skill set. >> kirk: oh, yeah. >> chris: took care of the football and ran effectively tonight. >> kirk: i dpguess that's right. that element of him being able to be a runner and just approaches his job as a whatever it takes. i got to throw, i'll throw. i got to run, i'll run. whatever. let's just win the game. >> chris: you can exhale finally. >> referee: ten yard penalty, first down. >> chris: his duke season pretty much ended against notre dame. game one for him as a play

caller. really had to earn his money because it wasn't easy. they finally got going. >> kirk: that's a football coach right there. that is -- that is a football coach. jaden daniels last year and now he's in south bend. desmond ritter at cincinnati. he's been around some special players that had that same skill set, run and throw. >> chris: the aggies, meanwhile, it's going to get tougher. they head into the s.e.c. intent on having a strong season in year run for elko, but the schedule is pretty daunting. what do you see from them looking ahead? >> kirk: well, i think frr michmi for mike elko it is getting a team to be resilient and overcoming their own set of things to deal with. the biggest issue is in the s.e.c., you better find some receivers. it is about the entire group and especially what they can do to improve at wide receiver.

>> chris: weigman bounces the ball into the turf. a&m able to begin just 243 yards. 100 passing yards against this irish defense tonight. >> kirk: saw coach say run the football. he wants to get out of here. yeah. had a few other words. but i will just say, run the ball, please. enough is enough. >> chris: they have to go to the swamp. you got bowling green. arkansas and arlington. so a chance to get their footing and begin to figure out what they have got on offense. but riley leonard and the irish come on the road. and it is their first win away from home against a ranked s.e.c. team since they went to knoxville 20 years ago. there is the elko-leonard hug. nothing but respect to fierce competitors.

>> kirk: the elko family there, obviously. >> chris: michael elko, mike's son, former baseball teammate of riley. holly has marcus freeman. >> coach, you have been preaching resilience throughout fall camp. tie ball game, two minutes left in this game. how did you find the resilience on that play to score? >> well, we knew it was going to be a fourth quarter game. decided to keep playing. this is a really good football team we just faced. well coached. they're tough. our guys were healthy. our guys were ready to go. and they believed. i knew this game was going to come to the fourth quarter. and i'm proud of their guys and the way they executed. >> you had a great run at the end of this game. the offensive line came up like it was the super bowl. how did they hold up? >> that's a great d line we faced today.

probably one of the toughest we will see all year. i'm proud of those young guys, man. i think we have six starters combined. they really got baptized today versus a really good d line. i'm proud of them. they will continue to get better. this offense and defense and special teams, it is something special. >> i want to bring in your young quarterback. how do you think this young man did here tonight? >> he's awesome, man. he's resilient. talk about resilient, that's him. tough. i want him to go down sometimes on the quarterback rubs. b thank god we got him on this team. >> thank you, coach. riley, you had to have some tough runs, particularly in that fourth quarter. how did you decide when and how? >> yeah. kiser said it only took me three-quarters to do so. but settled in and started making my right reads. you have to put your body on the line sometimes for your boys. able to get that done.

one drive is all it takes, so we got it done. >> this was an oppressive crowd here tonight. it is hard to hear, hard to play. what was the biggest challenge? >> yeah, unreal crowd. this place is something every crowd dreams. you look up and you can't see the end of the stands. it is an incredible place to be. god bless this football team. i can't put it into words right now. these guys worked their tail off. i know i'm on the mic right now, but credit to those guys that they played great. >> i can't help but notice the sparkling c on your chest. you are brand-new to this program. what do you hope you have done to earn the respect of your team that voted you as captain. >> i don't want to talk about myself too much, but it is the greatest honor of my life. and that leadership journey just started when i got the votes for it. but everybody on this team is a leader. we have a players only meeting. everybody is getting up there to say wise words. i love this team and its coaching for sure.

>> i know your mom would be disappointed if i didn't show america. you have the you suck bracelet on, but now it is in irish. >> matthew 23:12. those who exalt themselves will be humbled. those who humble themselves will be exalted. i carry that with me every day. >> your mom texts you every day to remind you to be humble. >> the final score says 23-13, not 23-12. there is a lot to like. he's done everything possible to earn the respect as a leader on this football team. he had the most faith in his new offensive line than anybody. i wasn't sure it was justified. didn't give up the sack. 200 yards rushing against the defensive line. >> yeah. a bunch of experienced, talented defensive linemen. we have said it throughout the entire broadcast. you just heard marcus freeman talking with holly. he said, i told you.

we will find a way to win it and get out there in the fourth quarter. mission accomplished for notre dame. for texas a&m, back to the drawing board. it is a long season. conference plays ahead of them and you have a first-year head coach. it is all about trying to fix what didn't go so well and become a better team. >> yeah. not always pretty, but certainly gritty. you come on the road to a place like this to a team that has some question marks. i think you have to talk about notre dame's position and what their challenges are moving forward. mostly their challenges are themselves. i think handling this. >> but when you hear riley leonard speak, as he said, deflect, deflect, we have so many leaders on this team. we have so many guys that care. it is those young guys on the offensive line that just keep getting better, keep getting better. the receivers and riley keep getting their chemistry better. and riley running, the way they play defense, this team will be a lot of fun to watch grow

throughout this season. >> kirk: it will be hard to move the ball at notre dame. the front is pretty stout, too. so let's see where they go and build from this. but this was exciting. this was fun to be here opening weekend in kyle field and see if this seventh ranked team was up to this challenge. in the end they were as they wore down the home team. >> kirk: yeah. i think it is fun for week one in college football. you have your perceptions. you know, we talk to people. we wonder what it is going to be like. you wonder if this team or that team. we came into this game. when it is good against good, you don't know what you are going to see. we're all watching just like the coaches are and learning about these teams as we see the execut execution. so we take away week one and see where these teams go in the next few weeks. >> chris: awesome to be back with our great crew on saturday night football as we launch into this new area. tomorrow night trojans taking on the bengals. >> kirk: you are off to tennis.

we'll be watching. >> chris: now, except on the west coast, stay tuned for your local news on most of these abc stations. good evening from kyle field with the irish going on the road to win it by ten. by ten. thank you for watching this presentation of the southeastern conference on abc. co oo

is it possible to count on my internet like my customers count on me? it is with comcast business. keeping you up and running with our 99.9% network reliability. and security that helps outsmart threats to your data. moaire dida twoo? -your data, too. there's even round-the- clock customer support. so you can be there for your customers.

with comcast business, reliability isn't just possible. it's happening. switch to reliable comcast business internet with security and get started for $49.99 a month. plus ask how to get up to a $500 prepaid card. call today! breaking news 40 niners, first round draft pick ricky pearsall has been shot in an attempted robbery in san francisco. the 40 niners say the wide receiver is in serious but stable condition after being shot in the chest. police say a suspect is in custody tonight. the details are still coming in and we're also tracking breaking news in the

north bay. a bad plane crash setting off a fire at an airport hangar in novato, sending up a massive plume of smoke. good evening, and thanks for joining us. i'm j.r. stone. a lot to get to tonight. we begin with the shooting of an nfl player ricky pearsall. the 40 niners first round draft pick in april shot in the chest near union square. police are telling us pearsall tried to fight off the robber and they both got hurt. abc seven news reporter tara campbell is live at san francisco general, where pearsall is being treated and where san francisco's police chief and mayor just shared an update. tara >> yeah, j.r. it's really all hands on deck here addressing the shooting as you just said, we just heard from the mayor, the da and the police chief and just into our newsroom this video from earlier today of ricky pearsall actually walking into the ambulance. now this all started this afternoon just before 4:00 at grant and geary streets where there were reports of a double