Did Texas A&M Make Statement As College Football Playoff Contender?

The Texas A&M Aggies looked like a real College Football Playoff contender on Saturday afternoon.

Oct 5, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) reacts in the second quarter against the Missouri Tigers at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images. / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies shocked the world of college football on Saturday, dominating the then-No. 9 ranked Missouri Tigers 41-10 at Kyle Field.

The win not only silenced many Texas A&M doubters but also catapulted the Aggies back into the top 15 of the AP Top 25 Poll.

This is even more impressive when you consider that just a few weeks ago, the Aggies suffered a demoralizing loss in the season opener to Notre Dame - a loss that many other programs may not have been able to rebound from.

In fact, whether Elko wants to admit it or not, the string of recent success and the dominant win over a top-10 team has sent a statement to the rest of the SEC that the Aggies are fully capable of contending for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

"We didn't flinch when we didn't get the job done against Notre Dame. We just kept grinding," Elko said. "These aren't statements. I'm not trying to make statements about anything, but we just got to keep going. We're where we want to be right now. We couldn't be in a better spot responding after Notre Dame."

"But at the end of the day, we still have half the season to play, and this thing could still go a lot of different ways. So we got to keep working."

Fortunately for the Aggies, they now head into the bye week after six straight weeks of football, giving them ample time to rest and get healthy before they return to the field two Saturdays from now.

Of course, it is easy to see why Aggie fans are so excited heading into the off-week. The way the schedule sets up for Texas A&M, things could become very interesting by College Football Rankings start to come out.

The Aggies will face just two ranked teams for the remainder of the season in No. 13 LSU and No. 1 Texas - both of which will be at Kyle Field and likely in prime time slots.

Meanwhile, their three remaining road games all come against teams that are in the bottom four of the SEC standings South Carolina, Mississippi State, and Auburn - the latter two of which are both well below .500.

All that said, Elko does not want his team to get caught up in the hype, or look too far ahead. Instead, he wants them to keep their heads down, and continue to grow and improve as they head into the second half of the season.

"We're 5-1, 3-0 heading into a bye week. That's all we are," Elko said after the game. "Can we play better? Yeah, I think we can play a lot better. I think there are a lot of things out there that we can play and fix and do better. We're in a growth mindset. That's how we talked about this thing. We were going into the season and putting our heads down and trying to grow every single day and get better. And ultimately, try to reach the capability that this team has, whatever that is, whatever that ultimately amounts to.

Texas A&M hits the field once again on October 19 against Mississippi State in Starkville.