Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko looked ahead to the Aggies’ first conference games of the season during his weekly talk with reporters Monday.
The Aggies put the beat down on McNeese State last Saturday 52-10, but now face a much stiffer matchup. They’ll travel to Gainesville, Florida to face off with the Gators and potentially two different quarterbacks.
EXCLUSIVE: Key takeaways from Mike Elko’s first Aggie win
Here are some takeaways from Elko’s comments:
Florida in the Swamp
The last time that the Aggies won an SEC road game, Elko hadn’t left for Duke yet and Jimbo Fisher was wearing maroon and white.
They’ll attempt to rediscover that road formula Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, one of the most heralded college stadiums in the country. Texas A&M is familiar with how stadiums can affect road teams; Kyle Field’s legendary reputation precedes itself.
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“Things with your mechanics, how you work, your quarterback, center, snaps … getting in and out of the huddle, how you communicate in bad environments,” Elko said. “I think one of the things that makes this conference so unique is you’re going to play in a hostile environment, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when. That certainly presents challenges.”
Florida isn’t expected to be in the upper echelon of the Southeastern Conference this year. They were demolished in Week 1 by Miami and got their first win of the season against Samford in Week 2. But Elko knows that in the SEC, “there are no easy road games.”
A ‘terrible’ run defense
Holding McNeese to 10 points is nothing to sneeze at. However, a week after giving up 198 yards of rushing to Notre Dame, Texas A&M gave up 180 yards of rushing to the Cowboys.
Elko wasn’t happy with how things went vs. the Irish and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/texas-ms-mike-elko-florida-002716752.html
Author : Austin American-Statesman
Publish date : 2024-09-10 00:27:16
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