'Never Play Like That Again!' Mike Elko Gets Honest About Texas A&M Aggies

Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies suffered their first loss against an SEC opponent in 2024, losing 44-20 against a tough South Carolina team.

Nov 2, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

The SEC no longer has an undefeated team to boast as the Texas A&M Aggies suffered their first conference loss of the season, falling to the South Carolina Gamecocks 44-20 in Columbia.

The struggles were evident for the Aggies right out of the gate, as they were down by two scores before the first quarter was even halfway over. They showed signs of life in the second quarter, bringing the game to a tie at 20 at halftime, but that was all the Aggies had to show for as they were outscored 24-0 by the Gamecocks in the second half.

Mike Elko had a simple explanation for the loss after the game: they got beat on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

"We had four turnovers, couldn't run the ball, couldn't tackle, couldn't control the quarterback, we didn't do any of the things you need to do to win a football game, and so we lost," Elko said. "We've got to get better, we've got to fix these things, and we have to never ever play like that again."

Elko expressed his disappointment in the team's tackling, as missed tackles were a common theme for the Aggies last night, and tipped his cap to the Gamecock offense.

"I don't want to sit up here and say it's all us, right? I'm not gonna be the coach who sits up here and gives them no credit.," Elko said. "They've got a big quarterback that's 240 pounds, a big running back that's 230, we just didn't bring our feet, we didn't tackle the way you need to tackle big backs. If you want to tackle big, powerful kids you have to bring your body through the tackle and we didn't do that tonight."

The first-year head coach spoke on the performance of Marcel Reed, which seemed to be a roller coaster throughout the night.

"He was certainly up and down some. We're not built to play that kind of game, you know we can't get behind like that in the second half," Elko said. "Once it got to that point, and we weren't able to play the game that we're better at, I think that that really hurt us. But he's still a young kid, he's learning, he's getting better, he's just gotta be a little more careful with the football."

On a more positive note for the Aggie team, Elko delivered a hopeful message about Le'Veon Moss, who went down with an injury after a tough hit to his lower body midway through the first quarter.

"It doesn't look as bad as it did on the field."

Luckily for Elko's Aggies, a bye week is in store next week, giving the team a perfect chance to straighten up their issues as they look to finish their season strong and find themselves in the College Football Playoffs.

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