Why Texas A&M is the Darth Vader of Notre Dame’s 2024 Football Schedule (2024)

Darth Vader started out as a heroic and fearless Jedi Knight named Anakin Skywalker before turning to the dark side of the force. He becomes a cybernetically-enhanced Sith Lord hell-bent on installing the Galactic Empire as the singular ruler of the entire galaxy.

Among those in South Bend, Mike Elko's journey follows a similar hero-to-villain character arc.

He joined the Fighting Irishin December 2016 following Notre Dame's disastrous 4-8 season in which former coach Brian Kelly almost lost his job.

The defense, in particular, had struggled that fall. The Fighting Irish ranked 44th in DF+, a defensive analytical measurement that combines Brian Fremeau's FEI ratings (opponent-adjusted drive efficiency data defensive ratings) and ESPN's SP+ rankings.

Elko made an immediate impact. In 2017, Notre Dame finished 15th in DF+ and went 10-3, stabilizing the program and setting it up for two runs to the College Football Playoffs over the next three seasons.

Following the season, Kelly believed he had Elko locked down for the immediate future.

"We'll all be together," Kelly said in late December 2016. "At first glance, yeah, I think you're always on guard (about losing a coach), especially the defensive coordinator position. Mike came in, did a really good job. His name was out there, but he's gonna be here at Notre Dame."

Of course, Kelly had Elko's future pegged incorrectly—just as Jedi Knights like Mace Windu and Obi-Wan Kenobi misread Anakin Skywalker's heart (which led to Windu's demise).

Like Darth Vader, Elko was drawn to the dark side of the force (in this instance,Texas humidity and oil money). He jilted Kelly's public declaration and made a lateral move to Texas A&M for a bump in pay.

He spent four seasons in College Station before becoming the head coach at Duke, where he led the Blue Devils to back-to-back winning seasons in 2022 and 2023.

Notre Dame already had to face Elko, a former hero but now villain, last fall, with the Fighting Irish barely escaping Durham, N.C., with a last-minute, 21-14 victory.

Elko returned to College Station during the offseason as the program's head coach. Now, Notre Dame is once again in the season opener at No. 20 Texas A&M on Saturday.

Still, without Notre Dame, Elko would likely never gotten Texas A&M's gig—just like Anakin Skywalker never falls for the allure of the dark side without first joining the Jedi order.

"In terms of being the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, what a great honor that it is, and what great opportunities you get because of doing a good job as a defensive coordinator at Notre Dame," Freeman said. "As you see with Mike Elko, and you see with myself, the opportunities that presented themselves after we were coordinators here at Notre Dame."

Now,Elko'sbecome a constant menace in Notre Dame's side.

Darth Vader's home vessel, so to speak, is the Death Star, a gargantuan space station armed with a planet-destroying super laser. It's 100 kilometers in diameter and equipped with an indestructible exterior and tractor beam capable of pushing and pullingopposing spaceships against their will.

Similarly, Kyle Field represents Elko's seemingly impenetrable fortress. It boasts a 110,905-record attendance and was ranked the toughest college football stadium to play in, according to EA Sports College Football 25.

Thus, Texas A&M is nearly indestructible at home.

The Aggies struggled mightily last fall—to the point the University fired head coach Jimbo Fisher despite owing a $76 million buyout. Still, Texas A&M went 6-1 at Kyle Field, with the lone loss coming against a College Football Playoff participant in Alabama.

More importantly, the Aggie defense elevates at Kyle Field. In 2023, Texas A&M ranked 19th in total defense (316.2 yards per game allowed) and 36th in scoring defense (22.1 points per game allowed).

At home, the Aggies limited opponents to 239.4 yards (3rd) and 12.3 (7th) points per game, equating to one of the biggest home-field advantages in the country.

As Han Solo would say, "Never tell me the odds." Ultimately, every fortress has a weakness.

The Death Star was nearly impenetrable except for a small opening that exposed the ship's reactor core.

Luke Skywalker, a budding Jedi Knight and the protagonist of the original Star Wars trilogy, fires two proton torpedoes into the reactor core, destroying the first version of the Death Star.

In that moment, he's anointed as the galaxy's newest savior.

Luke Skywalker, a farm boy from the middle-of-nowhere Tatooine, possesses special abilities and rises from humble beginnings to save the galaxy and become a Jedi legend.

A modest upbringing? Unique talents? Humble?

Sound familiar?

New Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard transferred from Duke this offseason. Before arriving in Durham, he grew up in the 22,000-person town of Fairhope, Ala., where he developed more as an all-around athlete than a budding blue-chip quarterback prospect.

In fact, Leonard nearly pursued basketball in college, which makes sense if you watch him dunk. He floats through the air as if he's elevating himself with the force.

This Round 1 matchup in the Irish Illustrated Dunk Contest is between top-seeded Riley Leonard and Aamil Wagner.

Watch the clip and vote via the next thread below to help determine who moves on. pic.twitter.com/b78qd52pxM

See Also

Texas A&M football releases depth chart prior to Notre Dame opener

— Irish Illustrated (@irishillustratd) July 25, 2024

His former and current coaches and teammates at Duke and Notre Dame also speak glowingly of his humility.

Plus, the father-versus-son dynamic between Elko and his former pupil is undeniable, an apt comparison (Spoiler Alert!) with Darth Vader's battles versus his long-lost son, Luke Skywalker.

"That's my guy," Leonard said of Elko. "We won a lot of games together. We had a lot of success. If anything, I should be thanking him because I went 3-9 my freshman year. We were terrible. And then we went 9-4 and 8-5."

Side note: Marcus Freeman represents Notre Dame's most obvious Han Solo candidate. His tactics, leadership and rugged charm play an integral role in the rebellion's success, but he's ultimately on the sideline as Luke Skywalker saves the day.

Darth Vader's biggest vulnerability might be thesoldiers under his command, the stormtroopers. The Empire's "Space Marines" dressed in white, full-body armour fail repeatedly, losing prisoners and falling for obvious rebellion tricks.

They also can't hit a moving target with a blaster when their lives depend on it.

Don't believe me? In 2021, the Guardian even published a story titled, "Why can't the stormtroopers in Star Wars shoot straight?"

Additionally, here's a clip of a few dozen stormtroopers firing blasters at Han Solo and repeatedly missing from near-point-blank range.

Perhaps that's a bad omen for Texas A&M quarterback Conner Weigman, arguably Elko's lead stormtrooper.

The former five-star prospect won the starting gig last fall and played in the Aggies' first four games before suffering a broken bone in his foot in a 27-10 win over Auburn.

In the process, he completed 68.9% of passes for 979 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.

Thus, he's already getting a lot of buzz as a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The Athletic's Dan Brugler currently lists Weigman as the No. 24 overall prospect on his big board.

Only his 2023 stats are misleading. He connected on 82.7% of his passes against two Group of Five opponents: New Mexico and Louisiana Monroe.

Weigman faced two Power Five opponents: Miami and Auburn. Against stronger competition, his accuracy dropped significantly to 58.2%.

Not only will he face a Power Four opponent on Saturday (Yes, I know the Fighting Irish aren't in a conference, but they still count), but theNotre Dame boasted the nation's No. 1 pass-efficiency defense in 2023, and it returns All-Americans like cornerback Ben Morrison, safety Xavier Watts and defensive tackle Howard Cross III.

Perhaps Weigman will play more like a stormtrooper this weekend: notoriously inaccurate.

Of course, it's clear by the conclusion of the original Star Wars trilogy (Spoiler Alert!) that Darth Vader is actually subservient to the evil Sith Lord, Darth Sidious.

The original Star Wars trilogy culminates with a final battle in the "Return of the Jedi" when Luke Skywalker encounters Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, who attempt to turn the new Jedi Knight to the dark side.

Once their efforts fail, Darth Sidious begins to torment Luke Skywalker with force lightning while Darth Vader looks on.

Luke looks at Darth Vader and begs for help, shouting, "Father, please!"

Eventually, a father's loveconsumesVader, who picks up Darth Sidious and throws him down a chasm, leading to the Sith Lord's demise (at least, that was until Episode 9: The Rise of Skywalker came out in 2019, but we won't be discussing that film in this article).

In the process, Darth Vader succumbs to severe electrocution and dies, ending the Sith'sreignand enabling peace to return to thegalaxy.

Elko may be beloved in College Station, but the boosters are ultimately pulling the strings (just like Darth Sidious, also a wealthy political figure, Senator Palpatine).

If Notre Dame is to win on Saturday, Leonard will undoubtedly have to carry the ball 15-20 times behind an inexperienced offensive line. For instance, he ran 18 times for 88 yards against the Fighting Irish last fall.

That'll likely equate to Elko having towatchhis former protégée take a beating from Texas A&M defenders as he escapes the pocket and scrambles for first downs.

How will he handle it?

"It is interesting, weird and not really something I want to do," Elko said regarding Saturday night's contest against Leonard. "But at the end of the day, it is part of the game.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for who he is, not just as a player but also as a young man. I have respect for his family. It will be three hours competing against each other, and the rest of the year rooting for him."

In reality, it'd be foolish to expect Elko to let up on Leonard, no matter how much respect he has for his former pupil.

On the bright side, Leonard can manage the hits he'll inevitably take and make Texas A&M pay.

"He is a physically impressive person, right?" Freeman said of Leonard. "He's almost 6-4 and 200-plus pounds that can take a hit. We don't want him taking a lot of hits. We obviously want him to get down when he has a chance to get down and limit the hits that a quarterback has to take.

"But he has speed. He has athleticism, and he's not afraid to run, right? He wants to run. He wants the ball in his hand."

Just as importantly,Leonard won't fall for any tricks of the dark side.

For instance, during a press conference this week, Elko stated that Leonard has more of "an upper hand" in this matchup because he spent two years going against his business during practice.

"That sounds like something he'd say," Leonard said, laughing. "He might just be sugarcoating for y'all. I don't know. I think we both got advantages. And it's not just him on that staff. It's so many people on that staff that know who I am and, obviously, have studied the film and stuff like that."

Does that mean Leonard will become Notre Dame's savior?

He'll certainly never give up, just like Luke Skywalker, which was enough to bring down the Empire.