Texas A&M's Mike Elko Prepares For 'Hostile Environment' At Mississippi State

The Texas A&M Aggies hit the road following their bye week.

Sep 21, 2024; Starkville, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs fans cheer during the third quarter against the Florida Gators at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Bush-Imagn Images / Matt Bush-Imagn Images

As the Texas A&M Aggies know well by now, there's rarely such thing as an easy win in the SEC.

For instance, Saturday afternoon's game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who sit at the bottom of the SEC with a 1-5 record (0-3 in conference play), looks like an easy win on paper. However, a trip to Starkville with the cowbells ringing loudly always presents a challenge. The Aggies are the much better team, and coming off a bye week is a nice advantage, but taking their opponent and the environment lightly would be a fool's errand.

While Aggies head coach Mike Elko isn't subjecting his team to the cowbells before the game, he will make sure they're prepared for what lies in store.

"I swore I would never do that to our guys," Elko told reporters Monday. "We play the music really loud, we create the crowd noise that way. You know, I don't know that there's anything specific to the cowbells. What makes it a hard place to play is they're always really talented, they take a lot of pride in playing at home, their fans, like everyone in the SEC, are very passionate on a Saturday afternoon and they take a lot of pride in protecting their house.

"You know, we talk about what makes this league different, what makes this league different is challenges like this. This is going to be a rowdy, hostile environment, they're going to be full of energy, it's going to be a really, really difficult place to play on Saturday. You just don't have that from top to bottom in every single league like you do in the SEC."

Since joining the SEC, the Aggies have a 2-4 record in Starkville. Their wins came in 2012 and 2020, their best seasons in the SEC when they finished in the AP top five.

Kickoff from Davis Wade Stadium is set for 3:15 p.m. CT as the No. 14 Aggies look to remain unbeaten in conference play.