Mike Elko Evaluates Conner Weigman vs. Mississippi State

Texas A&M Aggies coach Mike Elko gave his honest opinion on QB Conner Weigman's performance vs. Mississippi State.

Oct 19, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) runs the ball against Mississippi State Bulldogs cornerback Brice Pollock (14) during the third quarter at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images / Matt Bush-Imagn Images

The No. 14 Texas A&M Aggies found themselves in a bit of an unexpected fight on Saturday afternoon, trading back-and-forth blows with the Mississippi State Bulldogs in Starkville.

For a good portion of the game, they were in a dogfight that seemingly could have gone either way. Eventually, however, the Aggies were able to bring home the 34-24 win. Thanks in large part to a much better second half from their defense.

One big issue for the Aggies, however, was their inconsistent play at quarterback from Conner Weigman. At times, he looked like an SEC starter, while at others, he made some head-scratching decisions.

So what went wrong?

According to Aggies head coach Mike Elko, Weigman was playing a little bit too fast in the second half.

"Going into halftime I thought he was in a good spot," Elko said. "He missed the one throw early to Noah (Thomas), and then the pick slipped out of his hand in the first half. In the second half, he just got a little bit fast. What I kept telling him on the sideline was just slow down."

Weigman had started the game off well, completing 6 of 7 passes for 63 yards while leading the Aggies to an opening drive score on a touchdown pass to Noah Thomas.

But the end of the game, Weigman had thrown for just 217 yards and had two interceptions.

And Elko believes that as the game got tighter, the more Weigman and his team began uncharacteristically pressing to make plays.

"I just felt like we were pressing a little bit in the second half for whatever reason," Elko said. "I thought our running backs were pressing on some of the cuts. I thought our quarterback was pressing in some of his decision-making. It just felt like we were expecting it to be something different and not an SEC road game. All of a sudden it felt like we had to press to make plays, and I don't know why we got into that position. We've got to get that corrected and fixed."

Fortunately for the Aggies, they were able to get an SEC road win in spite of those issues - something that is never easy to come by.

However, as Elko said, they must get those issues fixed quickly, with the No. 8 LSU Tigers making their way to College Station this Saturday.