The Game:

Marcel Reed started the game in perfect Marcel Reed fashion.  On his second and third passes, he threw two interceptions—one for a pick-six that put the Aggies behind the Tide.

For reasons beyond any normal person’s thinking, Mike Elko stuck with Reed.

It worked, as the Aggies scored touchdowns on their next two drives.  They moved the ball on the ground for most of those drives, but Reed had some great passes.

From my analysis, all of Reed’s completions were passes he ripped right away and didn’t read the defense after snapping.  He either read the defense pre-snap or had already decided where he was going.  As soon as he received the snap, he was loaded up and throwing strikes.  It’s how Reed works best.

He can deliver strikes as long as he doesn’t have to think or escape pressure.

Unfortunately, that would be the only Aggie touchdowns on the day.

We would go into the half tied 17-17, with a level of hope that the Aggies could pull it off.

We’d gain a little more hope with a field goal on the opening drive of the second half to take a 20-17 lead.

All that hope would end on the next possession: the infamous 4th-down snafu. It was a perfect exhibition of 4th-down issues on offense under Mike Elko’s tenure at A&M. I’ll get into that in more detail later, but I want to cover a few other points about the game.

Far and away, the most positive thing about this team is the defensive front.  They’re not perfect and have issues from time to time, but they’re physical.  They can flat-out dominate an offensive line.  If Elko and his staff could figure out how to build off of that, we could really have something.

When I say build, I mean bring pressure beyond those four.  When we did it, it was mostly effective.  When we didn’t, we got torched.  I’m not sure why Elko feels the need to mask our coverage issues by dropping more people in coverage who can’t actually cover.

It’s fascinating: the more people we drop in coverage, the worse we cover because we either blow our zone assignments or get in each other’s way.

All we’re doing is giving the quarterback time to wait on us to make mistakes in coverage.  It’s maddening and fascinating all at the same time.

On the other side of the ball, the Aggie offensive line has a lot to be desired.  They’ve gotten better, but they still make way too many mistakes.  Those mistakes include missed assignments, false starts, and holding calls.

We ran one screen in the game that was beautifully set up.  Reed hit the running back with a nice touch pass.  There weren’t many Bama defenders in the area, but we had two offensive linemen leading for the running back.  They both just stood there and whiffed on the Bama defenders coming in to make the play.

It could’ve been an easy 20-25 yards, but I think we got eight yards because our offensive linemen were so clueless about who to block.

I can’t count how many times our offensive linemen go out into space and absolutely whiff on a block.

Speaking of running backs, KJ Edwards looked awesome in the first half.  He’s a big reason we scored touchdowns on those first two drives after the interceptions.  Somewhere along the way, he got dinged up and only carried the ball twice in the second half.

I hope I’m wrong, but he’s starting to get a little bit of a LeVeon Moss feel where he can’t stay healthy for an entire game.

The worst part of this game was Bama exposing yet another issue with our coverage: our linebackers.  We already knew our safeties can’t cover, but Bama took it up another notch and exposed our ‘linebackers’ inability to cover.

Both of their touchdowns came on plays where their tight ends had our linebackers completely lost in coverage.

Alabama went after our linebackers and nickel backs 17 times in the game.  They completed 16 passes for 261 yards.  That created 12 first downs and three touchdowns.

The rest of the secondary was targeted 9 times but only had 3 completions.  They got 50 yards, two first downs, zero touchdowns, and one interception.

If I’m an offensive coordinator for South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, or Texas, I’m DEFINITELY taking note.

This game was basically the Kentucky game all over again.  We were close at halftime.  We couldn’t do anything offensively in the second half, and our defense just finally busted.

It was nice to be competitive for almost three quarters, but it’s super frustrating to keep faltering when it matters most.

4th Down Snafu:

We all watched the 4th-and-1 where the offense looked totally confused.  Then the ball was snapped, resulting in a fumble that Bama recovered.  It doesn’t really matter that they recovered the fumble, since Bama was getting the ball regardless of what happened after the snap.

The Aggies weren’t getting a first down.

After the game, Elko said it was a play designed to draw the defense offsides.  The center should have never snapped the ball.

However, if you go back and watch the play, the right side of the line also fires off when the ball was snapped.  It wasn’t just the center moving.  Two other guys appear to move on sound and not sight.

We’ll never know what was really supposed to happen on the play, but it’s the perfect illustration of Elko’s issues on 4th down in his time at Texas A&M.

We absolutely can’t execute on fourth downs.  Why? I have no idea, but we haven’t been effective at all at converting fourth downs in Elko’s time at A&M.

Sure, there have been some fourth-down conversions, so it’s not total futility, but there have been several fourth downs where the offense never stood a chance of converting, especially in key moments of games.  We have a chance to seize momentum but wind up giving it to the opponent.

The most frustrating part of 4th-down decisions is the supposed use of analytics.  Analytics is simply the mathematical probability of a potential conversion based on a large data input.  Analytics has no idea in that moment what the real probability is for a specific offense against that specific defense.  Analytics is not watching the game and has no feel for what’s going on.

Head coaches are supposed to make that decision.

I feel like Elko decides based on analytics but has no idea whether his offense can get the first down.

I have no problem with his decision to try and draw the defense offsides there.  However, how can part of his offense think they’re running a play while the other part thinks otherwise?  It’s the eighth game of the year, and they’re not synced up?

Elko seems utterly clueless about his offense’s issues converting a fourth-down attempt.  We can’t even fool the defense and still end up shooting ourselves in the foot.

After the games, when asked about those decisions, he has no answer other than throwing a player under the bus.

It’s frustrating watching our offense fail time and time again attempting a fourth down, only to see Elko have no answer, like it’s not his fault the same thing happens over and over again.

It’s his job to make the decision (which all he is doing is using some analytic chart).  It’s apparently not part of his job to execute the decision.

The Decision to Punt:

By far THE worst decision of the day was when Elko elected to punt on 4th and 6.

We were down 11 points with a little under four minutes left.

I get we were on our own 22-yard line, but not giving your offense a chance to convert that 4th and 6 is criminal.

After the game, he said he didn’t believe the offense could convert six yards.

His lack of confidence in his offense in that moment is one thing, but here’s the real thing – YOU HAVE TO GIVE YOUR OFFENSE A CHANCE TO CONVERT IN THAT MOMENT.  GIVING THE BALL BACK VIA TURNOVER ON DOWNS OR A PUNT WILL HAVE THE SAME RESULT, WHICH IS A LOSS!!!!!

PUNTING THERE ENSURES THE LOSS!!!!

I can’t fathom how he thought that was a good decision.  I do get there’s a chance your defense could hold, but all Bama is going to do is drain the clock and make you burn timeouts.

It’s going to make your offense’s job even more difficult to score 11 points.  And you just said in that moment you didn’t have confidence in your offense to get six yards when it mattered most.  So you’re going to make your offense’s job of scoring 11 points even more difficult?

Your actions and words just threw your entire offense under the bus: the players you recruited and the staff you hired.

What kind of head coach publicly states he doesn’t have confidence in his offense and then takes the ball away from them???

What does that say about Elko as a head coach?  I get wondering if your offense can convert it, but you have to give them the chance.

That punt decision should be a massive concern for anyone wondering about Elko’s acumen as a head coach.

Reed is our Best Chance to Win Games (Allegedly):

After the Bama game, when asked about continuing to play Reed, Mike Elko said this: “I still believe he’s our best option, so that’s kind of where that’s at.”

HELLO MIKE ELKO!!!!!  WE ARE NOT WINNING FOOTBALL GAMES WITH MARCEL REED AT QUARTERBACK!!!!!  WE ARE NOT WINNING!!!!!  HOW IS HE THE BEST OPTION???  AND WHERE IS WHAT AT???

I’ve been a marginal Reed defender simply because I think there is a way to win with his athleticism.  I also believe there are many more issues beyond Reed in this offense.  However, after eight games and seeing that this staff is not going to change how they use Reed, there’s no point in playing Reed anymore.

He can’t be the best option because we’re not winning games.  Sure, maybe a couple of times a game he can put drives together to score 20 points.

But in the modern-day SEC, with our defense, that won’t be enough.

We were competitive for a half against Kentucky and Alabama, but did nothing offensively in the second half.  Our offense did nothing against LSU and Missouri the whole game.  I mean, absolutely shut down the entire game.

Don’t even talk to me about Arizona State and Arkansas.  Those teams are well below us.

If your assessment after the Alabama game is that Marcel Reed is our best option at quarterback, you need to cut the whole quarterback room loose in the offseason.

If you truly believe that, whatever NIL money you’re paying to any quarterback on the Texas A&M roster is literally being set on fire.

WE ARE NOT WINNING FOOTBALL GAMES WITH MARCEL REED AS OUR QUARTERBACK!!!!

My brain truly can’t process you saying he’s the best option and then you take the ball away from him late in the game.

Marcel Reed is 2-7 in SEC games as the named starter without KC Concepcion.  Despite LSU’s best efforts, we’re not getting KC Concepcion back from the NFL.

I’m hoping that comment was coachspeak after a loss, and we see Brady Hart for the rest of the season.

I’m not even saying Brady Hart will win us any games.  I’m just saying it’s a massive mistake not to find out what Brady Hart can do right now.

We know what Marcel can’t do.  After all, Elko wouldn’t have taken the ball from him if he truly felt differently.

If Elko starts Reed against South Carolina, we’ll know he’s not a serious head coach.

I don’t care “where that’s at”, Mike.  Reed is done at Texas A&M.  Try something else.

Our Reality:

So here we are at 4-4.

We have South Carolina, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Texas left on the schedule.

I’m not being overdramatic when I say I don’t really see another win on our schedule if nothing changes.

South Carolina is a much better team than their record indicates.  I have a feeling Kendrall Briles will have his way with our defense, especially with so much film out there.

Tennessee has its offensive challenges, but Jim Knowles will likely have his way with Holman Wiggins no matter who’s under center.  At least with Hart there would be a chance.

Oklahoma seems like the most likely chance at a win, but I think they’ll be similar to Tennessee.  Their defense will shut our offense down, and their offense will attack our defensive weaknesses to score more points than us.  It’ll be ugly for most of the game and set modern college football back by a century.

As for Texas, I know they have issues, but they’re still a decent enough football team when they don’t turn the ball over.  Sark has had Elko’s number, and I don’t see this year being any different.

I think the most likely outcome is Elko finds one win in there, and we wind up at 5-7 on the season.  Right on the cusp of bowl eligibility.  We might actually go bowling if not enough teams win six games.

I’ve brought this data up before about his SEC record, but let’s say Elko goes 1-3 the rest of the way.

Here’s what his SEC numbers will look like while at Texas A&M:

With a favorable schedule and KC Concepcion: 7-1

Without those two things: 7-10

He will be well below .500 in the SEC without that 2025 schedule and a dynamic offensive player.  Even with those, he’ll be 14-11, so not too far above .500.

If he doesn’t win another game, he’ll be 13-12 in the SEC, so basically a .500 coach through three seasons.

I know a lot of people think Elko is a great head coach and will turn it around.  I don’t know if I can see it based solely on his head-coaching track record.

His time at Duke is debatable because Manny Diaz is having the same level of success, if not better.

His time at A&M is looking worse and worse as the 2026 season wears on.  It’s the same thing we’ve seen since Fran – One outstanding season early in their tenure followed by a bunch of disappointing seasons.  Wash, rinse, and repeat.

Fran, Sherman, Sumlin, Jimbo, and now Elko.

I’ve often thought Elko was a Wade Phillips type of coach: an excellent defensive coordinator but lacking as a head coach.

With Dave Aranda’s firing from Baylor, it hit me that Elko could basically be an Aranda as well.  Both had excellent second seasons but never came close to replicating that season.

Obviously, Elko isn’t going anywhere with his big contract extension, so we’ll see.

As a reminder, Elko’s buyout is $54 million after this season.  It would have been $15 million under the old deal.  Great job, Aggie leadership.

I hope I’m wrong, but as the data set gets bigger, it looks like we’re in the Aggie head coach cycle where nothing ever changes except the names and the amount of the contract extensions.

BTHO Bye Week

Sponsor:

The 2026 Aggie Football season is once again brought to you by Old Smokey. It’s the lifetime disposable grill that’s been manufactured just North of Downtown Houston since 1950. When you need an affordable and reliable grill, Old Smokey is for you.

What Aggie fans witnessed on Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, was coaching malpractice.  A man who makes $11.5 million a season never allowed his team to win.  Mike Elko marched his Aggie team into that game with no chance to win.

The book on how to beat this A&M football has been out since Arizona State.  Kenny Dillingham exposed it with his Arizona State team, but he didn’t have the horses and had some bad breaks.  Three big turnovers doomed Arizona State’s chances to beat the Aggies.

Dillingham knew how to do it, though.

The following week, Will Stein came into Kyle Field using the blueprint and destroyed the Aggies.  Lane Kiffin further used it and embarrassed the Aggies.

Against Arkansas, I saw the Aggies change their game plan to make sure they won.  I didn’t think that plan was sustainable, but I agreed with the approach.  Something else needed to be tried.
However, against Missouri, Mike Elko and his staff went right back to what hasn’t worked all season.

The first offensive play of the game was a pass play.  As a fitting omen for the season, it was incomplete.  We got a first down on a 19-yard completion on 3rd down, but then we botched the next three plays and had to punt.  On six plays, we handed the ball off once to a running back.  We left the ball in Marcel Reed’s hands for five of the first six plays.

Mike Elko says we’re going to commit to the run game.  The actual plays tell a different story.

On our second offensive possession, we got the ball at the Mizzou five-yard line thanks to an interception.  On our first play of the series, KJ Edwards runs it for four yards—2nd and 1 at the 1.  Lamont Rogers commits a false start, and now it’s 2nd and 6 at the 6.  We run the ball with Jamarrion Morrow, who gains four yards—3rd and 2 at the 2.

That’s a potential run down, especially if you’re working on special goal-line stuff during the week.

We call a pass play where Marcel Reed stands in the pocket.  Back-to-back four-yard carries, and we call a pass play.  I get that a running play can get stuffed, but I also know Marcel Reed standing in the pocket isn’t high-percentage this season.  Or any other season, if we’re being honest.  Especially at the goal line.

It’s just mind-boggling the play calling when you know the results.  We’re not even down big.  Nobody has scored.  It’s the second series of the game, and our defense gave us a gift.

It’s absolutely coaching malpractice by Mike Elko.  Sure, a lot of people are going to blame Marcel Reed because it’s fun to blame Marcel Reed.  I’m not saying Marcel Reed doesn’t deserve some blame, but what in the world is the coaching staff doing giving him an opportunity to do what he does best?  Turn the ball over in the end zone?

Every other team in America has some special play at the goal line these days.  A heavy package coming out of a sugar huddle.  Slipping tight ends off blocks after a lot of motion.

Not Mike Elko’s squad.  Let’s just line up like we’ve done all season and run the same damn thing that doesn’t work.

It is truly the definition of insanity.

Obviously, the game didn’t get any better from there.  We took the lead after a botched punt by Mizzou, and we gained only five yards on three plays.  Our big-legged kicker nailed a 53-yard field goal to take the lead.

Our offense totaled 50 yards and two first downs in the first half.

FIFTY YARDS AND TWO FIRST DOWNS IN AN ENTIRE HALF OF FOOTBALL!!!!!

I get that Marcel Reed is not a good quarterback.  I get that.  I don’t deny that.  But how in the world can the Aggie offense only get fifty yards and two first downs when the defense is doing a pretty damn good job getting the ball back to you?

The defense had one bad series in the first half where they gave up 77 yards and a touchdown.  Other than that, the defense was really limiting in the first half.

Our defense did okay the entire game, but it was inevitable they’d bust because the offense wasn’t doing anything.  The defense isn’t perfect, but they showed some promise for much of the game.

We ran six total plays in the third quarter on two possessions.  SIX TOTAL PLAYS ON TWO POSSESSIONS IN THE THIRD QUARTER!!!!

What in the world does the offense talk about for 20 minutes at halftime?  I’m dead serious.  20 minutes of scheming and we get negative seven yards on six plays in the third quarter.

I’m telling y’all – the offensive issues go way beyond Marcel Reed at this point.

Our offense doesn’t rank in the Top 100 on any meaningful offensive metric.  There are 138 FBS programs to make these rankings.

Here they are:
Yards per carry: 103rd
Runs of 20+ yards: T-105th
Passing offense: 108th
Passing yards per completion: 112th
Total offense: 113th
Red zone offense: T-113th
Completions of 20+ yards: T-125th
Passes had intercepted: T-125th
Completion %: 126th
Yards per play: 130th
Passing efficiency: 130th
Plays of 20+ yards: T-134th

Remember, 138 teams make up those rankings.

Also remember, through six games, our offense has ONE single play over 50 yards.  That includes the Missouri State.  We had a 54-yard pass to a tight end thanks to two busted plays by Arkansas defenders.  It’s just an anemic offense.

For the Missouri game, the Aggies attempted 40 passes.  Marcel Reed is credited with 7 runs, but three of those were sacks.  I feel like the other four were scrambles of some variety.  The running backs had 16 carries.  So 47ish pass plays to 16 true handoffs.

Commitment to the running game, you say, Mike?

Meanwhile, Mizzou ran 28 passing attempts to 38 true rushing attempts, and their running backs amassed 230 rushing yards.  That’s about 6.0 yards per carry.  The Aggies averaged around 2.9 yards per carry.

That’s about all I’m going to analyze in this game, but it’s crystal clear: if you want to beat the Aggies, you only need to do the following things:

1) Stack the box to limit the run and give the OC and Marcel Reed looks that make passing opportunities enticing.  Thanks to the game plan and quarterback issues, there aren’t any passing opportunities.

2) Just let the Aggie offense self-destruct on its own.  Even if they start moving the ball on the ground, be patient.  The urge to pass will come over them, and they’ll botch it.

3) As for the Aggie defense, keep pounding the middle with the run.  Since their offense is so bad, you can afford to delay scoring opportunities.  At some point, you’ll string together a few good runs or a big run where the Aggie defense either busts several assignments and/or makes botched tackles.

4) Take a few shots in the passing game against defenders not named Dezz Ricks.  At some point, someone will bust coverage, and you’ll get a big chunk play.

Just be patient and stick to those four points.  If you have decent enough athletes and your coaching staff can stick to these four points, there’s a 90% chance you’ll beat the Aggies even if you turn the ball over a time or two.

It really is that simple.

And I don’t think Mike Elko can see that.

We Gonna Make a Bowl?:

Right now I’d say it’s not likely.  Obviously we’ll be 4-3 after The Citadel this weekend.

Then we go on the road to Alabama, so we’ll be 4-4 headed into our bye.

Back on the road to South Carolina, and I think we lose that game.  Despite their record, the South Carolina offense has been pretty good this season.  I think Kendall Briles will score enough points to beat us.  4-5.

Then we come home against Tennessee.  Based on how Tennessee is playing right now, I think this is a true coin flip game.  I’d actually give the Aggies the nod at Kyle.  5-5.

Next up is Oklahoma.  Don’t let their win over Texas fool you.  They’re still a highly flawed football team, but they played well enough for Texas to make mistakes, and Oklahoma took advantage.  If Mike Elko decides to do something different this game, we can absolutely beat the Sooners and become bowl-eligible. I’m not sure Mike can, though.

I don’t see how we beat Texas.  I get OU just beat them and Arch is a turnover machine himself, but I don’t think Sark gives Arch a chance to lose this game.  I think Sark follows the proven formula I laid out above.  Muschamp’s defense will completely shut down our offense.  Sark will pound the rock, and they’ll win.

We’re really only playing for two things at this point in the season:

1) Bowl eligibility
2) Upset of Texas

They’re both tall orders in my book, but we’ll see what Elko can do.

Would I Sit Marcel?:

At this point, it doesn’t look like Elko and Wiggins will change their offensive plan for the season.  It’s also clear Marcel can’t execute it.

I’ve been against sitting Marcel simply because I do think an offense that utilizes Marcel’s athletic ability would be the best offense to run.  Don’t make him a pocket passer and keep him moving.

I don’t know if Elko and Wiggins can’t see that, or if they’re just being stubborn and think things will change.

Since it appears they’re not going to change their offensive philosophy, it would be criminal to run Marcel out there under center again.

I think this whole offensive system has massive flaws, and Brady Hart won’t do much better, but at this point, you have nothing to lose.

So you either commit more to the run with Marcel under center, or you run Hart out there against The Citadel to see if he can execute this pass-happy offense Elko and Wiggins are hell-bent on running.

I’d run Hart out there to see if Wiggins has any chance of hanging around next season.

I think I know the answer, and the whole offensive staff will need to be dismissed, but might as well give Wiggins a chance to prove himself.

Mike Elko’s Media Comments:

I’m sure you’re aware of Mike Elko’s comments after the Missouri loss, calling a group of fans a cesspool.  Specifically, he was referring to TexAgs and their main content creator, Billy Liucci.

Elko was asked if he had a message to fans who might be losing faith.  

Here’s the specific quote from Elko:
“There’s a difference to me between the fan base and social media, and so there’s one group that I really don’t care much about. Billy [Liucci’s] cesspool can go be Billy’s cesspool. Our fan base: Stay with us. Be behind us. We’re going to build something. That’s what we told you we were going to build. We’re in a really bad spot right now, but we’ll work our way out of it,” Elko said.

I can’t even begin to describe how moronic this answer is.  He specifically attacked a portion of his fanbase, then shifted to the positive part of his answer and asked fans to stand behind the team.

While I think his answer is concerning because it’s bad form, I actually have two other questions that are really serious for Elko as a head coach:

1) Why are TexAgs and Billy Liucci top of mind after a loss like this?  Liucci is usually on the sideline, but he’s far away from Elko, and he isn’t even in the post-game press conferences.  I don’t think Elko even sees Liucci during and after the game.  He might see him before the game during warm-ups, but that’s it.  Why in the world is a fan message board and someone who’s not even in the room top of mind in that moment?  What’s even crazier is that Liucci is the biggest sunshine-pumping media member for Texas A&M.  That dude makes maroon Kool-Aid by the 55-gallon drum and serves it up to the fan base.  TexAgs has clearly been weighing on Mike’s mind for some time.  The actual response is a concern, but why TexAgs was top of mind in that moment is a bigger concern to me.

2) For Elko to make that comment, it’s clear he’s reading TexAgs.  So here’s my biggest concern – WHY IS OUR HEAD FOOTBALL COACH SPENDING TIME ON TEXAGS DURING THE FOOTBALL SEASON???  Seriously.  Why is he wasting any time on TexAgs during the football season?  It’s a complete waste of his time and energy.  Even worse when he takes some of the comments to heart and lets them eat at him.  The man makes $11.5 million a year.  He’s worried about what idiots on the Internet are saying about his football program?  You think Nick Saban or Kirby Smart ever spend time on a message board?  Lane Kiffin might, but only to troll people because that’s how his brain works.  He’s doing it for a laugh.  Elko is taking what random people say on the Internet personally.

Put those two questions together, and it’s clear that when A&M loses a game, his brain is using some level of space thinking about what the cesspool on TexAgs is going to say about the loss.

It’s concerning that it’s taking up space in his brain.  He’s got enough to worry about with his football team in its current state.  If I’m Trev Alberts, I have IT block TexAgs from Coach Elko’s computer and work-issued phone.  I’m not kidding.

This leads me to another quote from his Monday press conference before the Mizzou game.

Here’s what was said:
Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said he told his team a couple weeks ago his plans for retirement: “What I’m going to do is, I’m going to go debate all the talking heads in college football, just to really make it clear to everybody who knows things about football and who doesn’t.”

When I read it, I found it odd.  Why is he even thinking about retirement while talking to his players about it?  Even worse, he has this mission of telling people who know ball and who don’t.  His team is in a negative spiral, and he’s thinking about telling people who know ball and who don’t?  What good is that right now?

Couple that with his comments about TexAgs, and it’s crystal clear he has no clue how to fix this Aggie Football team.  He’s more worried about external perception than actually fixing the issues at hand.  That’s a bad place to be as a leader when you’re more concerned with the noise than fixing the issue at hand.  Fixing the issues at hand fixes the noise.

There was another quote from the post-game that caught my ear:
“I gave up play-calling on defense a few weeks ago to try to step back and be more of a CEO, and see if I could be involved and help in all areas… We’ve got to find ways to create opportunities for success in practice. Different scenarios, different situations. Because right now, what we’re doing is not working well enough.”

The man is midway through his fifth season as a head coach, making $11.5 million a year, and he doesn’t know where to spend his time best for this team.  You think Kirby Smart or Curt Cignetti are wondering this?

If I’m to understand this correctly, he’s going to see if he can help our offense since he’s not calling the defense anymore.  So our head coach, who I presumably spent the offseason focused on calling defensive plays, is now going to help our first-year offensive coordinator.  Mike Elko is a defensive coach.  Does he really know how to run an offense?

This is like the CEO who used to be the CFO going down to the Chief Sales Officer’s office asking if he can get involved in the sales process.

Aye, caramba.

While I admire that he’s done this hoping to make a change, nothing has changed.  If I watched the Arizona State, Kentucky, LSU, and Missouri games, I wouldn’t see anything different in how Texas A&M is approaching their game plans this season.  It’s the same basic plan of attack for all four games.  Sure, Arkansas was different, but we know why that game plan was like it was.

I can only judge Elko from the games themselves.  I actually try to block out comments he makes during press conferences because I think they’re worthless.  At least they should be.  What matters is what happens in games, not the words said around them.

I’m not going to put a ton of concerns and issues into these comments, but they do give me pause.  Is he creating external pressure on himself that he doesn’t need?  I’m concerned that he does.

I don’t think he has any idea what issues and corrective measures are needed.

That is why IT needs to block TexAgs on his office computer and school-issued phone. He’s sure not going to find them there.

Can We Fire Elko?:

Short answer – NO

Long depressing answer – Read on…

The depressing part is if we hadn’t extended Elko, we could have fired him for $15.75 million at the end of this season.  If we fired him under his new contract at the end of this season, it would cost $54.62 million.  ALMOST FORTY MILLION DOLLARS DIFFERENCE!!!

I’m not advocating firing Elko, but the financial flexibility would be nice to consider, at least if there’s someone else out there with more promise as a head coach.  Sure would be nice to use that money for NIL or a new offensive staff.

I’ve talked about the massive error that contract extension was, but that forty million difference should put it all in perspective.  We’ve completely hamstrung ourselves by keeping Mike Elko as our head coach.

If we were to fire him after the 2029 season, we’d still owe him a little more than $20 million.  That’s three more seasons after this one.  $5 million more than what we would have had to pay him if we fired him after this season under the old contract.

The error of that contract can’t be overstated just how foolish it was.
To make matters worse, we extended Trev Alberts’ contract by six years and a total of $19.2 million.

Over the next five years, we owe Jimbo around $7 million a year, Elko around $11.5 million a year, and Alberts around $3 million per year.  The actual total is $111,100,000 over the next five years.  So, a little over $22 million a year to three men for the next five years.

If we were to terminate Elko and Alberts after this year, we would still owe $107,470,000 and then have to hire another Head Coach and Athletic Director.

So their terminations ain’t happening anytime soon.  In fact, I can’t see us firing Elko until after the 2029 season at the earliest.

Massive kudos to Elko, Alberts, and their agents for milking the Aggie Money Machine.  Maybe we should change the logo from aTm to ATM.

So What’s Our Hope?:

I’ve written about this already, but the only hope I see is Elko firing the whole offensive staff to hire an elite, experienced offensive coordinator to build the offense how the offensive coordinator wants it.

Not how Mike Elko wants it.  Elko’s idea of an offense in modern college football is not there.  Even the Klein hire was marginal at best.  It just looks like an amazing hire compared to Wiggins right now.

As we’ve seen in college football, all it takes is an ace coordinator opposite the strength of the head coach, along with a transcendent quarterback to win a national championship.  Heck, look at what Kentucky is doing with Notre Dame’s backup quarterback from the past two seasons.

It seriously can be done in short order if a coach is willing to make the necessary decisions.

Mike Elko is also going to have to get uncomfortable and realize much of the criticism of him as a head coach is just.  I’m not talking about the cesspool stuff.  I’m talking about the legit criticism he’s getting right now.  He’s getting his rear end handed to him in the SEC when he doesn’t have KC Concepcion and a weak schedule.  Maybe he doesn’t know ball like he thinks he knows ball.

Forget everything he learned under Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher.  Read some books on Nick Saban and watch the Saban documentary.  Study what Curt Cignetti is doing, too.

I’m half-joking about the Saban stuff, but I’m also serious; he needs to broaden his view of what makes a great head coach.

I’m not joking about forgetting EVERYTHING he learned on how to be a head coach from Brian Kelly and Jimbo Fisher.  Lobotomy that stuff.  That information is worthless unless you want to rank up there with the biggest buyouts ever in college football.

Set your ego aside and learn how to be a great coach.  Stubbornness and fear of change ruined Jimbo’s outcome at Texas A&M. It’ll do the same to you if you want to follow that path.

As for the rest of us – Enjoy that win over The Citadel.

It may be the last one we see all season, and that’s not hyperbole…

Sponsor:

The 2026 Aggie Football season is once again brought to you by Old Smokey. It’s the lifetime disposable grill that’s been manufactured just North of Downtown Houston since 1950. When you need an affordable and reliable grill, Old Smokey is for you.

I’ll keep this short because I don’t want to sound like Mr. Doom and Gloom.

I love watching victories at Kyle Field. I had a wonderful time at Kyle Field on Saturday night. It’s always fun when the Aggies win regardless of the opponent.

Unfortunately, what I saw on Saturday does not give me warm fuzzies for the rest of the Aggie season. In fact, my optimism meter dropped a good bit.

What I saw on Saturday night was an offense that completely scrapped whatever it was trying to do in the previous games. They went out there and completely out-athlete their opponent.

I saw a head coach and coaching staff making sure they didn’t lose that game. I love the strategy for that one game, but I don’t love it for the remainder of the season. It was the right thing to do all things considered, but I don’t think it’s sustainable.

I don’t know if there’s another SEC win on this schedule. Sure, there’s probably one or two, but I don’t see much more than that.

The offense has no identity, and the defense still has massive holes.

Two bright spots stood out in the game. The freshman running back duo of KJ Edwards and Carsyn Baker. Edwards carried the ball 11 times for 66 yards and two scores. Baker got only 26 yards on 12 carries, but he ran tough, as that’s his role.

The other is obviously our placekicker. I had no idea you could get an accurate placekicker in college who also has a booming leg.

I don’t even want to break down the Arkansas game. It was a fun win, but I didn’t see anything to build on for the rest of the season. Sure, we need to become a more run-first team the rest of the way and stick to it. However, what I saw was an offense doing just enough to make sure they didn’t lose it.

In my mind, we should have racked up a whole lot more rushing yards. I don’t believe what we did on Saturday night will be enough to beat the rest of the SEC. We will play much better defenses, and they’ll shut down our running game and dare Marcel Reed to beat us. We know how that’ll work out.

I get why Elko did what he did, and I agree. I don’t think it’ll work against other SEC teams the rest of the way.

We made a massive mistake with our offseason offensive plan. I don’t think you can fix it in-season.

I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll see.

One play seemed like the microcosm of the entire season.

Kiotti Armstrong’s catch-and-run was the longest pass play of the year. That’s right, a 54-yard pass to our tight end is the longest pass play of the year, five games into the season.

Actually, it’s our longest play of the year. Five games in and we’ve had one play longer than 50 yards. That includes Missouri State. Ouch.

5 games in and one play over 50 yards. To a tight end on a busted defensive play by our opponent. Calling this an explosive offense would be entirely incorrect.

Not to take anything away from Armstrong, but the Arkansas defender who was supposed to cover him fell and left him wide open. Then, the Arkansas defensive back who could have tackled him or made a play on him wanted no part of him and whiffed on his tackle. I get it.

Then the microcosm of the season was when Armstrong was rumbling down the field, and another Arkansas defender tried to make a play on him. The problem was Isiah Horton quit blocking him and started celebrating. The defender gets to Armstrong and knocks him out of bounds at the two-yard line.

Then an Arkansas defender slips, leaving him wide open, and another Arkansas defender whiffs the tackle. Armstrong should have had a clear shot to the end zone, but Horton stops blocking and celebrates while that defender tries to get Armstrong out of bounds.

Elko talks about discipline and tenacity, but Horton sure didn’t show it on that play. He gave up blocking his man and then started celebrating while his defender knocked Armstrong out of bounds. Arkansas gave us a gift, and we couldn’t even fully deliver it.

One guy failing to play through the whistle stopped what could have been an absolute gift from the other team. I know it seems like a small thing and really didn’t matter, but it could absolutely matter in a bigger game. Horton should have had that Arkansas defender blocked until the end of the play. He sure shouldn’t have been celebrating.

That play, while exciting, tells me something’s missing from this team. The obvious seems like a lack of player leadership, but that’s always the excuse when teams are struggling.

Don’t get me wrong, player leadership absolutely matters in team sports. However, sometimes that’s instilled at the top.

Elko says he preaches discipline, but Horton was not disciplined on that play at all.

This team just doesn’t seem completely focused on every play. There are too many mental mistakes.

Hopefully I’m wrong, and the Arkansas game is truly a building block.

The Missouri Game:

I obviously haven’t paid much attention to Missouri this season. I knew they got Austin Simmons from Ole Miss. I assumed Eli Drinkwitz would do what he’s always done: beat the teams he should and lose to the teams he should.

I assumed A&M would have enough talent to beat them.

I watched the first half of their game against Florida, and I was wrong.

They’re a damn good football team.

Austin Simmons is a good quarterback, and they’ve got a great offense. I’m not sure they’ll annihilate the Aggie defense, but I think they’ll put up quite a few points.

They also have an infinitely better defense than I imagined. They currently have the 15th-ranked rushing defense in the country. That includes a game against Florida, which was ranked 11th in the country as a rushing offense.

For a team like the Aggies that really needs to establish the run, things don’t look good.

Couple all of that with an 11 a.m. road game, and I don’t like things for the Aggies.

What I thought would be a fairly reasonable win for the Aggies now looks daunting.

Then again, Elko has had his way with Drinkwitz at Missouri, so maybe that trend continues. I don’t see it happening.

How Does Elko Handle all of This?:

I hate to say it’s time to start looking at next season, but I don’t see a way out of where we are this season.

We’re not beating Texas, and we’re not beating Alabama. I don’t see how we beat Missouri.

If I’m right, we’re 7-5 at best. I hope I’m wrong, but that feels like the absolute best-case scenario right now.

That leaves games against South Carolina, Tennessee, and Oklahoma in question. Ironically, all of those games come in November. As any Battered Aggie knows, November has never been kind to the Fightin’ Texas Aggies.

South Carolina, despite their record and continuing to blow leads, has improved on offense under Kendall Briles. I believe they’ll absolutely put up more points than we score against their defense. Tennessee, while having plenty of holes, appears much better than Texas A&M right now.

Oklahoma is as bad as we are, but I can’t say we stand a good chance against them. It’ll come down to who plays better: Reed or Mateer.

With all that said, I know he can’t ever say it publicly, but I hope somewhere in a dark corner of the Bright Building, Mike Elko is concocting a plan to fire his entire offensive staff and get a new quarterback for the 2027 season.

Elko can’t trot out Marcel Reed or Brady Hart next season, even if it means losing Brady Hart. Elko has to get a seasoned quarterback in the portal.

This cleansing also includes Adam Cushing. I know Cushing gets rave reviews about an excellent offensive line coach, but I’m not seeing it. In almost three seasons, I’ve not seen anything close to a dominant offensive line. Sure, it hasn’t been Steve Addazzio bad, but it’s not been even close to dominant.

He had four guys drafted into the NFL, and they didn’t do anything against Texas or Miami when it mattered most.

This season’s offensive line has been very questionable, and I have to think Cushing had a big hand in signing off on these portal transfers. They’re big and slow. We missed on a couple of key linemen like Lance Heard and Jacarrius Peak in the transfer portal, so I’m not sure Cushing is an ace recruiter. I think he’s good, but it’s best we clean house on offense and let a new offensive coordinator build his staff the way he wants.

Speaking of transfers, it’s wild to me that we took two transfers who started on Alabama’s offense last year. Sure, it’s not a huge number, but it’s roughly 1/5 of Bama’s starting offense last year. The A&M offense can’t even find first gear, and the Bama offense hasn’t scored less than 38 points this season.

Why can’t the Aggies have nice things?

Back to what Elko has to do – Assuming things go where they appear headed, he has to admit he completely botched the offensive side of the ball this season. I’d say he’s actually botched it his entire time in Aggieland. We’re basically KC Concepcion away from a complete offensive meltdown under Elko.

Just think about what last year’s offense looks like without KC Concepcion and the perception of Elko coming into this season.

Actually, let’s look at Elko’s Texas A&M record against P4 opponents with and without KC Concepcion:

With KC: 8-2
Without KC: 7-7

He’s essentially a .500 coach against P4 opponents without KC Concepcion at Texas A&M. He’s an .800 coach with KC Concepcion.

I know some people want to look at his record pre- and post-extension, but I think it’s more important to look at his record without a game-changing offensive threat.

If you’re wondering, here’s his record pre- and post-extension:

Pre Extension: 12-5
Post Extension: 3-4

I know it doesn’t look good post-extension. And I wrote last week how foolish the extension was, but I think KC Concepcion inflated the pre-extension number. He’s 5-5 pre-extension without KC—a .500 coach.

One more quick thing on offensive threats. Would you believe me if I told you Mario Craver has never caught a touchdown in an SEC game in his time at Texas A&M? It’s true. He’s only caught touchdowns against Notre Dame and Arizona State as P4 opponents. That’s wild to me.

I love Mario Craver, but we’re either not utilizing his talent, or he’s simply Robin to Batman. It’s clear KC Concepcion was a Batman and Isiah Horton isn’t.

Elko is going to have to retool his offensive mindset in today’s college game totally. He’ll need a seasoned offensive coordinator he can hand the keys to. I’m talking up-tempo or innovative play caller with real skins. Not some ground-and-pound offense that complements the defense he wants to run.

It’s a different era, Mike. Jimno tried to win with trench ball, and he failed. You’re headed in the same direction unless you start recruiting the best offensive linemen and build a stable of running backs like Nick Saban did. I don’t see that happening in today’s NIL era.

You’ll have to win games with offensive innovation.

The obvious choice is Chip Kelly, but I’m not sure Kelly would come to A&M, and I’m not sure Elko could handle Kelly’s type of offense. Kelly helped Ohio State win a national championship two seasons ago, but I don’t think Elko could handle a guy like Chip Kelly.

If not Kelly, someone else can run a modern offense in today’s college game.

We don’t need to fire Mike Elko. We need to give Mike Elko the resources and force him to make uncomfortable decisions. We need him to grow and develop as a head coach. His way ain’t working right now. It doesn’t look like it ever will.

Mike Elko can grow and develop as a head coach if the higher-ups hold him accountable and push him. That’s where growth comes from. Settling in and being stubborn yields the same results.

That’s why we fired Jimbo.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again – Most of the head coaches in college football are overrated. I think there’s a base level of head coach, and then it all comes down to their coordinators and quarterback.

My three elite-tier head coaches are Kirby Smart, Curt Cignetti, and Lane Kiffin.

I think there’s some promise with Will Stein and Eric Morris, but only time will tell how they do at lesser programs.

We can’t fire Elko due to financial reasons, but those are the only two guys I’d consider firing Elko for if money wasn’t a factor.

Everyone else behind them comes down to the program they’re at, along with their staff hires and quarterback. While Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian are decent enough coaches, they happen to be at programs with huge resources and history, plus leadership willing to make decisions to win at the highest level. Those decisions mostly mean spending big bucks on elite coordinators and doing what it takes to get key players from the portal.

Mike Elko and the leadership at Texas A&M don’t think that way right now. They’re trying to play some level of Moneyball even though we crow about having resources on par with everyone else in the country.

Elko needs to drop the stubbornness about building an entire program from the ground up the way he thinks it can be. It hasn’t really worked in five seasons as a head coach.

Hire an elite-level offensive coordinator and give him the keys. You go back to work on your defense.

It’s the only realistic route I see out of where we are.

I hate to be already looking forward to next season, but it’s the reality.

Denying that you’re in a different place while being insane trying the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result, is a dangerous place to be.

BTHO Missouri

Sponsor:

The 2026 Aggie Football season is once again brought to you by Old Smokey. It’s the lifetime disposable grill that’s been manufactured just North of Downtown Houston since 1950. When you need an affordable and reliable grill, Old Smokey is for you.