Texas A&M coach Mike Elko pulled no punches after his team beat LSU on Saturday night to claim first place in the SEC.
The No. 14 Aggies beat the No. 8 Tigers 38-23 after a second-half quarterback change sparked A&M. After Conner Weigman was replaced by Marcel Reed, Texas A&M scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives. Thanks to those scores and three interceptions from LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, A&M pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable victory.
“This is a real program,” Elko said in his postgame news conference. “It’s not fake, it’s not a politician running this program talking fast and criticizing everyone. This is a real program and for all the recruits, this is a real place and if you want to be really good at football, this “It’s a really good place to be.”
Let’s be clear, Elko did not mention anyone by name in the quote above. But it’s very easy to see how he could refer to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, a man who talks pretty fast. Fisher was fired during the 2023 season despite having a buyout worth more than $70 million due to the massive contract extension he signed after the 2020 season.
Fisher always had stellar recruiting classes with the Aggies, but the on-field results didn’t match the stars in those classes. Aside from a 9-1 season in a COVID-impacted 2020, the Aggies lost at least four games in each of Fisher’s seasons with the team.
Elko was part of Fisher’s staff for that 2020 season. The former Duke head coach led the Texas A&M defense from 2018 to 2021 before becoming the head coach of the Blue Devils. After a flirtation with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, A&M hired Elko in the offseason.
Kentucky is now 1-5 in the SEC this season after a home loss to Auburn on Saturday night. Meanwhile, A&M is 5-0 and has a very manageable conference schedule left compared to the rest of the teams at the top of the conference. While Georgia has games remaining against Ole Miss and Tennessee, and LSU plays Alabama, the Aggies have games at South Carolina and Auburn before renewing their rivalry against Texas on the final weekend of the season. If A&M beats the Gamecocks and Tigers, the Aggies could be assured of a spot in the SEC title game before the Longhorns come to town.