Mike Elko Details Major Challenges of SEC Road Games

Mike Elko will open up his SEC career with a game against Florida in The Swamp on Saturday.

Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko high fives players as they exit the field during the second quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Texas A&M Aggies coach Mike Elko will open his SEC coaching career this Saturday on the road against Florida in The Swamp.

Elko said the biggest daunting task is to be able to communicate with 90,000 screaming Gator fans yelling when his offense is trying to call a play.

"How you communicate in bad environments, presents certain challenges," Elko said Monday. "There are no easy road games in this conference. In other conferences you might have a few places where you play that might be easier than others. That is not the case for us. In this league, every road game is a major test.'

Elko doubled down on his position wherein he said the SEC is the most difficult conference to play in on the road.

Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) runs the ball against the McNeese State Cowboys during the second quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

"It's challenging playing on the road in this conference," Elko said. "I think one of the things that makes this conference so unique is you are going into a hostile environment no matter who, no matter where, no matter when. It's always something that presents challenges."

When Elko was at Duke, he was successful on the road, but the ACC is not as strong as the SEC. It is not as daunting going into Wake Forest as it is going into Mississippi State or any other SEC opponent.

"I think we started preparing in the spring kinda doing some things with our quarterback center snaps, getting in and out of the huddle," Elko said. "There are things we do in our communication to try and make things easier for us on the road."

The typical SEC crowd is similar to the Kyle Field crowd the Aggies had against Notre Dame in week one. They are loud, and boisterous and they come in droves to root on their favorite team. There is nothing like SEC football on the road.