Mike Elko’s emphatic statement decision flips momentum for Texas A&M, locks up a CFP bid for the Aggies
Mike Elko’s fake punt decision was a bold swing of the sword that helped the Aggies pull off a monumental win over Missouri
The Texas A&M Aggies pulled off another dominant win, this time taking down the Missouri Tigers on the road 38-17. A&M started strong, heading into halftime up 14-0, but Missouri fought back early in the third quarter, making it 21-7 and forcing an A&M three-and-out midway through the quarter. Momentum felt like it was slowly slipping out of the Aggies’ hands until Mike Elko rolled the dice and made arguably his gutsiest call as head coach of A&M.
Rather than punt the ball back to Missouri, the Aggies elected to fake the punt instead. The ball was snapped to linebacker Dalton Brooks, who raced 48 yards down the field for the first down. A&M scored at the end of the drive and never looked back, finishing off the Tigers with yet another dominant second half.
A lot of defensive-minded head coaches would have played the field position battle and punted regardless of momentum, which might not have been a bad decision given how good A&M is on defense. For Elko to recognize the situation and go against tendency there deserves plenty of credit, and was an emphatic testament for his ability as a head coach.
Mike Elko makes statement against Missouri
The Aggies would score on every drive of the second half following the fake punt aside from one drive that ended due to a fumble, pulling away and dismantling the Tigers in another outstanding road performance from A&M this season.
After the game, Mike Elko discussed his rationale on the decision to fake the punt, and he confirmed it was a purely momentum-based decision. “Momentum had gotten away from us…We felt like we had an opportunity and we took it.”
Elko joked after the game that linebacker Dalton Brooks, who almost took a fumble to the house against Missouri on top of the big fake punt run, is “a two-way player now” and that Brooks kept reminding him he was a running back in high school as well as a top linebacker.
For the Aggies, the fake punt was the shot in the arm they needed to rip off their fourth ranked road win of the season and all but bury the Tigers. For Mike Elko, however, it felt like that was the moment that confirmed times had changed for A&M and that they had a coach willing to do whatever it took to win.
The Aggies are 9-0 and are a lock for the College Football Playoff. What a Year 2 for Mike Elko and Texas A&M.
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