I will keep this brief so myself and Mike can go in depth on the Pod, but there is only one place to start. The official Texas A&M dictionary (yes, it’s real) defines the term “Gig ‘Em” as…
Gig ‘Em [gig əm] verb – Today, the term Gig ‘Em is typically accompanied by thumbs-up gesture and seen as a universal sign of approval for Aggies and is a symbol of the Aggie Spirit. The Gig ‘Em sign showcases the Aggie Ring, which is traditionally worn on the right hand.
The term was popularized in 1930 by P.L. “Pinkie” Downs, a member of the Texas A&M Board of Regents and Class of 1906. Downs asked the crowd at a yell practice before the TCU football game, “What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?” Improvising, he borrowed the name of a sharp-pronged frog hunting tool called a gig, answering his own question by saying “Gig ’em, Aggies!”
Now that we know what the term means, I think we can agree the Fighting Irish absolutely gigged the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night in Kyle Field. Now I know the media is getting ready to drop their “why is Notre Dame relevant” narrative and replace it with their next spin job, “A&M isn’t that good anyway” to minimize this win, but I won’t waste your time with such commentary here. What Marcus Freeman’s group did Saturday night was get the win program defining and direction legitimizing win they couldn’t get last year. They took the show on the road, through the gates of hell in the toughest environment in the nation and battled their way to a gritty win. And while apparently no one else in the media believed they’d win this game, the Irish always felt they would get this one. ‘
The defense was to no one’s surprise, absolutely brilliant. Their only blemish on the night was taking a few too many pre-snap penalties which was really the only way A&M moved the ball for most of the game. They forced two turnovers, made talented Aggie QB Conner Wiegman look pretty terrible, and held up in the Texas heat, a credit to their preparation with the coaches and strength and conditioning instructor Loren Landow. The play of the night on defense came from sophomore Christian Gray, who was picked on all night because Wiegman wouldn’t dare throw Ben Morrison’s way, but he persevered and broke up the play that sealed the win.
The offense meanwhile wasn’t as pretty as the defense, as penalties and Mike Elko’s Aggie defense combined to suck a lot of momentum out of their possessions. Riley Leonard had some ups and downs, but he never lost composure in the game and channeled his inner Ian Book with clutch second half throws. His weapons hung in there too, and no player had a bigger set of contributions than transfer wideout Beaux Collins who made the offensive play of the night to get the go-ahead drive moving for the Irish.
The real story on the offense was the much talked about and inexperienced offensive line. They came into the game with six total starts between the five of them, against a physical and aggressive defense, but more than held their own while not allowing a single sack. And as the night went on, their conditioning won out (much like the defense) and they leaned on the Aggies in the second half to the tune of two physical drives punctuated by the law firm of Price and Law.
Lightning strikes…and it’s followed by the thunder…
The moral of the story of this game is that it wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t have to be. Lots of the “top teams” didn’t look that sharp on the first Saturday (Oregon, Ohio State, Georgia). This game was expected to be a rock fight and that is exactly what it was. Two defenses coaches played chess in College Station and Marcus Freeman won the matchup against Mike Elko for the second year in a row. His entire staff did their jobs as Al Golden turned in a typically sharp performance calling the defense and the upgrade from Gerard Parker was evident as Mike Denbrock found a way to get the offense going in the second half with some solid adjustments. This group rallied to get it done after hearing about not being good enough to win this ballgame, and even having to overcompensate for some incompetent officiating.
This win meant the world to this program. We can talk about this win’s potential downstream impacts later, just enjoy this one folks, because it was that rewarding to get. This was the biggest road win since Oklahoma in 2012, but even in that game it didn’t feel like Notre Dame had the “superior” team. Sure, they won but their lack of athletic explosiveness and game breaking ability was rather indicative of what would eventually be their downfall in the Title Game. Saturday night in Aggieland was the perfect marriage of Freeman’s recruiting success and his (and his staff’s) coaching ability culminating in a defining victory. This one just meant more, and it showed afterward when they celebrated with the fans that made the trip to Kyle Field. The home opener is next, enjoy your Sunday morning, Love Thee Notre Dame!
Stay tuned for a full breakdown of the win on the South Bend Beat pod in the days ahead. You can find Nick on Twitter @YNWA9623, Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our fall of podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. The store is live and Little Ed has been in the lab cooking up some can’t miss items for you fans. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon!
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