More than 100,000 attended the defensive battle Saturday night at Kyle Field and at times, it felt like there were 100,000 penalty flags tossed.

Texas A&M football began its season Saturday with a 23-13 loss vs. Notre Dame. There were 17 penalties total.

It was a close game marked by defense before the Fighting Irish running game finally broke down Texas A&M's front seven. One of the five largest crowds in Kyle Field history fell silent as a Jeremiyah Love touchdown with less than 2 minutes left gave Notre Dame a 20-13 lead it would not relinquish.

GAME RECAP: No. 20 Texas A&M's defense can't make up for sluggish offense in loss to No. 7 Notre Dame

Here are three things we noticed:

Texas A&M might have one of the best defenses in the country

Notre Dame might, too.

Outside of three long runs for the Irish, the Aggies looked good. Notre Dame was 2-for-12 on third downs and averaged just 5 yards a pass play. The trouble is, the Aggies averaged a paltry 3.3 yards per pass attempt.

On run plays and pass plays, A&M defenders lived in the backfield, until the final drive. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard had little time to pass and couldn't push the ball downfield, finishing 18-for-30 for 158 yards.

But a 47-yard scamper by Jadarain Price was a nasty wart on the A&M defense's performance. On that long run, Texas A&M had a missed tackle from one player and a bad angle from another that led to Price running nearly untouched almost half the length of the field.

Early on, it was clear defenses would reign. In the first half, Leonard completed 11 passes for just 74 yards. Notre Dame racked up 65 yards on 14 carries, but 29 of those came on a run from Love.

By the end of the game, Notre Dame was able to take the lead on an 80-plus-yard drive. Love broke off an 18-yard rush that showed the Aggies' fatigue.

Conner Weigman has to improve to maintain draft status

Conner Weigman is listed as a potential first-round draft pick on several sites. You can see why: he has the size at 6-foor-3 and 220 pounds, he has ample arm strength and he can gain yards with his legs.

Texas A&M seemed to be most effective when Weigman was handing the ball off instead of passing it. And that's saying something for a rushing offense that mustered just 3.8 yards a carry. Weigman finished 12-for-30 for 100 yards.

Weigman did look good on throwing outside breaking route and used his legs to extend plays and drives. His hard count also forced several offsides from Notre Dame.

But he put the ball in harm's way repeatedly. On his first interception, his intended target had separation but Weigman overthrew the ball to Noah Thomas. On the second, Xavier Watts jumped a pass over the middle intended for Theo Melin Öhrström. The tight end looked to be breaking open, but the pass was low and behind him, and Watts undercut the route.

A&M mustered just 127 yards from scrimmage in the first half and in the second half, leaned on the run game. The final two quarters weren't any better and the Aggies finished with just 246 yards of offense.

Texas A&M's home-field advantage was a factor

As "Mo Bamba" blared, Aggie faithful roared and Notre Dame stumbled.

Both teams were dinged for penalties, but it was clear the noise was factor for Notre Dame's linemen on both sides. There were multiple offsides by the Irish defense and false starts by the Irish offense.

The crowd noise one of the reason's Notre Dame started the game 1-for-8 on third downs and had an average to-go length of 9 yards in the first half. It was the fourth-largest crowd in Kyle Field history at 107,315.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M football lose to Notre Dame in front of record crowd