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SOUTH BEND, Indiana (Ticker) -- On a brutally hot day, some of the heat was taken off Notre Dame coach Bob Davie. Arnaz Battle threw for a pair of touchdowns in his first collegiate start and Notre Dame began a difficult early season schedule by defeating 23rd-ranked Texas A&M, 24-10. Temperatures on the field at Notre Dame Stadium exceeded 100 degrees but did not wear down the Fighting Irish, who took the lead for good at 14-10 on a 46-yard TD pass from Battle to Javin Hunter late in the third quarter. The Fighting Irish (1-0) have won all four openers under Davie, but the embattled coach is just 22-16 overall under the Golden Dome, including a 5-7 mark last year. With his long-range future at the school in question, Davie gave himself some breathing room at the expense of one of his closest friends. Before coming to Notre Dame, Davie worked at Texas A&M under R.C. Slocum. "He's a great friend. We both knew it was a pivotal game for both of us," Davie said. "We both knew one of us had to win and another had to lose." The celebration will be short-lived for Davie, who must prepare his team for top-ranked Nebraska next week in South Bend. The September schedule also includes games with Purdue and Michigan State. "It was about the type of game we throught it would be -- not real pretty," Davie said. "These first games are so difficult, especially with the heat so bad. We didn't play well, but we played with a lot of heart." Battle completed 10-of-16 passes for 133 yards and rushed 12 times for 50 yards for Notre Dame, which closed 1999 with four straight defeats. The 6-1 junior spread the ball around, completing passes to seven different receivers without an interception. "You play more confident when you have a quarterback like Arnaz Battle out there. Arnaz is a playmaker," Fighting Irish tight end Jabari Holloway said. "Arnaz is a playmaker." The Fighting Irish contained Texas A&M quarterback Mark Farris, a 25-year-old former Pittsburgh Pirates farmhand who was making his first start. Farris completed 16-of-28 passes for 165 yards and was intercepted once. Texas A&M opened the scoring 2:06 into the second quarter on an eight-yard run by Richard Whitaker, who carried 13 times for 71 yards. Battle appeared edgy in the first few series but finally settled down late in the first half, completing a 46-yard TD pass to Joey Getheral 1:31 before halftime. The Aggies regained the lead midway through the third quarter on a 23-yard field goal by Terence Kitchens. Battle countered with the scoring strike to Hunter, who appeared to push Aggies cornerback Jay Brooks before making the catch at the goal line. Hunter's reception seemed to inspire the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame soon went on a 12-play, 69-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard TD run by Julius Jones, who break several tackles en route to the end zone. Nick Setta added a 32-yard field goal midway through the quarter to increase the lead to 14 points. The last serious threat for the Aggies ended when safety Tony Driver intercepted Farris' pass at the Irish 15 with four minutes left. "We got into a situation where we were playign catch-up," Slocum said. "We found ourselves throwing a lot more than we wanted to." Robert Ferguson of the Aggies caught five passes for 79 yards. Notre Dame has won three of the four all-time meetings, with the first three taking place in the Cotton Bowl. The Aggies (0-1) host Wyoming next week.
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