Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen takes the media through what went wrong during the game-winning touchdown for the Texas A&M Aggies
Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen was on the wrong end on a crucial play down the stretch for the Irish against the Texas A&M Aggies. He spoke about it after the loss.
It was a frustrating defensive performance during the Notre Dame 41 to 40 home opening loss to the Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday night. The formerly elite group put together the worst performance we have seen on the defensive side of the football in a long time. On top of the 41 points allowed, the Fighting Irish also allowed 488 total yards as a unit.
The pass defense for defensive coordinator Chris Ash was the biggest issue over the weekend, allowing Aggie quarterback Marcel Reed to throw for 360 yards and two scores through the air. When Texas A&M got the football back to end the game, there wasn’t a soul in Notre Dame Stadium that thought the defense was going to put together a stop. That was even true when they had them in a fourth and goal situation, a now-or-never play for the Aggies.
On that final defensive play for A&M, linebacker Drayk Bowen gave up a contested catch touchdown to backup tight end Nate Boerkircher. With very limited time remaining on the clock for the offense, that would be the decider for the Irish.
Following the home loss, Bowen was made available to the Notre Dame media. He was asked about that final play, what he saw, and how Texas A&M was able to win the game. Bowen didn’t avoid the question, and explained exactly what happened, a lack of execution.
Drayk Bowen breaks down the game-winner
“On film, it’s a pretty simple formation, trips off,” Bowen told the media. “I knew they were going to motion the wide receiver so I have the tight end man to man. I knew he was going to run the wheel. He ran the out and up and he made a good throw, a good catch.”
A leader for the Irish defense, it has been a frustrating beginning to the season for Bowen. He finished the matchup against the Aggies with six total tackles, but that included just two solo tackles. Bowen did have a couple of massive hits on the night, and there was clearly an intention to try and bring some excitement to Chris Ash’s group.
Following the 0-2 record for the Fighting Irish, there needs to be some soul-searching as a program right now. From here on out, this team will have to be perfect, and even if that happens, there’s no guarantee that the playoffs will be in their future. They have dug themselves into a deeper hole.
There is going to be a firm target on the back of Coach Ash moving forward, and there should be moving forward. If this defensive group is going to somehow turn things around, they are going to need and lean on leaders like Bowen. Taking accountability for mistakes is big, but now it is time to figure out those mistakes and find real fixes for this atrocious Irish defense.
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