Texas A&M's 2024 season could have started with a bang, but instead, the Mike Elko head coaching era began with a 23-13 loss to No. 7 Notre Dame inside a nearly sold-out Kyle Field on Saturday night.

While the game was tied at 13-13 heading into the fourth quarter, Irish quarterback Riley Leonard's clutch throws and the Notre Dame running game finding its footing late sealed the deal for the visitors. Texas A&M's defense, which, for the most part, looked impressive and much faster compared to years past, still gave up nearly 200 yards rushing yards.

Offensively, new OC Collin Klein failed to impress on the main stage, while starting quarterback Conner Weigman looked confused throughout the night. In his worst performance in just his 10th career start, Weigman threw for 100 yards and two interceptions, failing to find any rhythm while accuracy issues plagued the offense from moving down the field through the air.

While this is just one game against an elite Notre Dame defense, Texas A&M's offense's lack of improvement could indicate things to come ahead of SEC play. Here are five takeaways from the opener.

Texas A&M's offense line has finally improved

Yes, despite Conner Weigman's immense struggles in the pocket, Texas A&M's offensive line finally looked competent against a talented defensive line.

Only one sack was allowed on the night in pass protection, while the Aggie run game accumulated 146 yards on the ground. However, starting right guard Ar'maj Reed-Adams left the game with an apparent lower-body injury, which will be monitored throughout the week.

Texas A&M's secondary lived up to the preseason hype

Last season's defensive issues started and ended in the secondary, as the cornerback rotation lacked length, speed, and overall depth. This led to Mike Elko landing more than half a dozen defensive backs from the transfer portal, including former Kansas State CB Will Lee III.

On the night, the Aggie secondary limited Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard to just 158 yards passing while recording two pass deflections as a team. Lee, who nearly recorded his first interception with the program, led the team with 9 tackles, 8 solo tackles, half a sack, and a pass deflection. Overall, this doesn't look like an area of great concern moving forward.

OC Collin Klein's scheme failed to produce explosive plays

While it's appropriate to blame Conner Weigman's performance, new offensive coordinator Collin Klein's scheme is predicated on opening holes in the run game and providing the quarterback with efficient, quick reads through the air.

Outside of a handful of productive runs, Weigman averaged 3.3 air yards, and the wide receivers failed to find separation. It didn't look like adjustments were made in the second half, as the Aggies' one touchdown drive resulted from multiple penalties. Again, this is a small sample size, so next weekend's matchup vs. McNeese will need to pose as a "get right" game.

Texas A&M's wide receiver rotation lacks explosivness

For those who feel we in the media constantly hyped up Texas A&M's offense, it's fair to note that none of us agreed that the Aggies wide receiver rotation wasn't an issue entering the season. Made up of more length than speed and quickness, lacking a player like Evan Stewart, who transferred to Oregon this offseason, showed its ugly face on Saturday.

While Weigman failed to connect, this group couldn't create separation on nearly every offensive snap, as senior Jhade Walker led the receivers with just 31 yards off six receptions. Even worse, junior WR Noah Thomas recorded one reception for ten yards.

While this performance could have been matchup-based, it will be interesting to see if this becomes a consistent issue.

Conner Weigman's no good, very bad day

Conner Weigman entered his redshirt sophomore season with high expectations after missing the final eight games of the 2023 season after sustaining an ankle injury. Well, facing one of the toughest defenses in the country to open the 2024 season, Weigman looked like a shell of his former self, resulting in the worst passing performance of his young career.

Throwing for exactly 100 yards, 3.3 yards per pass, and two interceptions on the night, everything looks off, culminating with the young signal caller vomiting during the second half, which was, of course, caught on camera. While Elko and his staff will wipe the slate clean and focus on rebounding against McNeese next weekend, Weigman's performance will continue to receive substantial criticism if improvement fails to take place.

If this type of performance seeps into A&M's Week 3 road matchup against Florida, the outside noise will only get louder.

This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Here is everything we learned from Texas A&M's 23-13 loss to Notre Dame