Texas A&M Aggies and HC Mike Elko enter uncharted territory as doubters begin to creep in ahead of “Prove it” opportunity
The Texas A&M Aggies are riding a ton of momentum early in the 2025 college football season. Can Mike Elko’s squad continue their success against Auburn?
Ranked at No. 9 in the latest AP Top-25 Poll, the Texas A&M Aggies are beginning to earn a lot of notoriety as an underrated football team that could make some noise in the SEC. Head coach Mike Elko has a lot of energy around the program right now, and they look like they are taking a substantial step in year two under him. Following a bye week, the Aggies have an interesting challenge in front of them this weekend, welcoming the Auburn Tigers to College Station.
If you think back to the 2024 college football season for the Aggies, they were able to put together a strong run after an opening season loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They won seven straight contests, also earning a spot inside the Top-10 rankings, but the pressure got too much for Texas A&M. The team proceeded to lose four of their last five games, leaving a bad taste in their mouths this offseason.
Coach Elko has been tasked with preparing his team for how to handle success better, and that is the challenge they are facing this weekend while sitting with a 3-0 record. Texas A&M has gone from the hunter to the hunted in a very short amount of time, and a pissed off Auburn team is coming to town after losing a heartbreaking game to the Oklahoma Sooners last week. You can bet that Hugh Freeze’s squad is going to come in with some energy.
Gut check game for Texas A&M
This feels like a game that the Aggies would typically lose in the past, a bit of a letdown performance. This team under Elko needs to show that they are growing, and they are not defined by their past underwhelming performances. The Auburn Tigers are a bit of a volatile group, but they have shown they can be a very tough out even against good teams.
Auburn is led by quarterback Jackson Arnold, who is still a very streaky passer, but he is also a talented runner. This is an offense that wants to be physical and run the football behind a very talented offensive line. Running back Jeremiah Cobb leads the team with 375 yards and four touchdowns on 7.2 yards per carry. Throw in talented pass catchers like Cam Coleman and Eric Singlton Jr., and you have an offense that has the chance to create some big plays.
Both teams, at least in theory, want to play a physical brand of football. The Aggies, however, also have explosive wide receivers of their own. Look for Mario Craver and Kevin Concepcion to continue making some explosive plays for quarterback Marcel Reed. They will need them to continue their momentum in order to avoid an upset against Auburn.
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