Can you believe it? Texas A&M, the squad everyone pegged for a top-10 finish and a legit shot at another College Football Playoff bid, is staring down a brutal 3-3 record overall, and a disastrous 1-3 in conference play. High expectations? Yeah, they haven’t even sniffed them. Now, with a brutal second half of the season about to kick off, even just making a bowl game is looking like a long shot. The Aggies need answers fast, and so far, the attempted fixes just aren’t hitting.
Elko’s QB Stance: Adamant Despite the Shipwreck
Here’s the thing that’s got everyone scratching their heads: Coach Mike Elko has been absolutely adamant that Marcel Reed is his guy at quarterback. And that hasn’t changed, even as the season has just absolutely drifted off course like a ship in windy waters. Sophomore Brady Hart, a four-star recruit from Florida, is the backup, but he’s only seen the field in garbage time. After their loss to Missouri, Elko was asked directly why Hart hasn’t gotten a shot. His response? “It just doesn’t feel like that’s the move that would help us. I will do whatever I believe is the right thing for this team to do. Everything’s competitive. We’re trying to figure out what the right thing to do is. That just doesn’t feel like the right thing at the moment.” So, despite the mounting losses, it sounds like Reed is locked in.
Offense in Chaos, Practice Tries to Save the Day
Elko says the offense has been trying new things, but seriously, the adjustments aren’t working. He tried to explain it by saying, “Sometimes when the results are the same, it appears as though the effort and the opportunity and what you’re trying to do is the same. It’s not.” He claims “everything has to be on the table,” from personnel to philosophy to pace. But then he spins it around and says major, wholescale changes probably aren’t beneficial for the rest of the season. “New isn’t always better,” Elko said after the Missouri loss, adding, “New doesn’t get executed at the level it needs to in the SEC to be successful.” Make it make sense, coach!
One thing that HAS changed is practice. After the Kentucky loss, they flipped it up: less scout team work, more competitive, physical stuff. Elko said he wanted to re-energize the team, and he felt practices got more enjoyable. He put it like this after the Arkansas game: “Anytime you’re searching for answers, the first place you look is practice: how you practice, what you’re doing. The kids have really taken to it.”
The Third Quarter Meltdown That’s Killing Their Season
This is the killer, absolutely brutalizing the Aggies every single week: the third quarter. It’s a total meltdown. Kentucky outscored them 21-0. LSU piled on with a 21-3 advantage. Then Missouri hammered them 10-0. That’s an insane 52 points given up in three second halves while they put up just 3 points. Elko admitted, “There’s been an energy drop coming out of halftime. I don’t know if that’s related to game score. I don’t know if that’s related to belief, confidence.” They’ve tried little tweaks, like getting out onto the field earlier to warm up, and Elko felt they did “better” against Missouri, but let’s be real, giving up 10 unanswered points isn’t exactly “better” when you’re desperate.
So, here we are. With a tough second half looming and a bowl game literally on the line, the Aggies roll into a non-conference game this Saturday against The Citadel. They absolutely HAVE to pull it together.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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