Elko discusses LSU matchup, Arkansas win...and Penn State job

Texas A&M coach Mike Elko would prefer not to have his name mentioned in coaching searches, thank you very much.

Elko, who has been occasionally brought up as a possible candidate for the Penn State job, made it pretty clear during his Monday press conference that he’s not a fan of such speculation.

“I think it’s absolutely hilarious how you guys cover coaches. I think three weeks ago, I was getting fired. Now I’m getting hired,” he said. “It’s just, it’s absolutely hilarious. It is a waste of brain space to spend any time talking or thinking about any of that stupidity.”

Elko also wasn’t a fan of how the Aggie defense played Saturday night in a 45-42 win that moved A&M’s record to 7-0, 4-0 in the SEC. While giving a nod to the explosive Arkansas offense that put up 527 yards of total offense, Elko said most of A&M’s wounds were self-inflicted.

“Arkansas had a plan. They went out, they executed their plan. They had a ton of success. So credit to them. We can’t play defense like we played on Saturday against anybody, and so if we don’t fix our own. Issues, we won’t stop anybody,” he said. “I think Texas A&M led to Texas A&M’s defensive issues on Saturday.”

Elko was so frustrated with the defense’s performance that he didn’t select a defensive player of the week, saying nobody earned such a distinction. He was far more complimentary of the offense, including offensive lineman of the week Chase Bisontis.

“I thought Chase had another phenomenal game. I think he continues to do a really, really good job of creating movement. Obviously, our offensive line, again with no sacks, continued to play really, really well,” Elko said.

After a performance that saw him throw for 280 yards, rush for another 55 and being responsible for four touchdowns, quarterback Marcel Reed was the team’s offensive player of the week.

“Marcel played his most complete game,” Elko said. “I thought he did what we had asked him to do, consistently throughout (the game). He made plays with his arm. He made plays with his legs. (He) distributed the ball really well.”

While Reed, Mario Craver, KC Concepcion and (when healthy) Le’Veon Moss get most of the attention on offense, it was the performances of two reserves — wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman and running back EJ Smith — that helped the now-No. 3 Aggies outlast the Razorbacks. Bethel-Roman nearly doubled his entire season output with a 4 catch, 83-yard performance that included a 24-yard touchdown reception, while Smith picked up 52 yards on just 7 carries, including a critical 4th and 1 conversion on A&M’s 34-yard line while the Aggies were nursing a 3-point lead in the fourth quarter.

Elko said their patience and selflessness was emblematic of the team as a whole.

“I’ve had this conversation with our skill (position) kids all year … There’s going to come a time where, when the game’s on the line, the ball is going to come to you. You have to be ready to make that play. And I don’t know when it’s going to be I don’t know how it’s going to happen, but you have to be ready to make that play, because inevitably, that play might be the difference between us winning and losing. Might be the difference between us going to the playoffs or not. That’s what football is,” he said. “So when you think about it, you know, EJ Smith’s not having all of the limelight he dreamed of having going into his senior year. I’m sure, I’m sure he wishes he was the feature back, carrying the ball 20 times a game. But here it is 4th and 1 at Arkansas in our own territory, and he’s got to convert. And that’s a championship play, and that play and that player will have as much to do with our success as anyone.”

Elko indicated he didn’t have any particular since of satisfaction about going to 7-0 and having the program in a position it hasn’t been in for 30 years and was instead preparing to face a wounded LSU (5-2, 3-2 SEC) team fighting for its playoff life. When asked about A&M having a “tough time” winning at Tiger Stadium since entering the SEC, Elko parried, “by tough time, you mean we’ve never done it?”

Even though he’s well aware of the difficulties the Aggies have had in Baton Rouge, Elko said the program is progressing towards being able to go in to Tiger Stadium and win.

“I think for a large period of time, we didn’t go down there physically and stand up to the challenge. I saw some of the early games (under Kevin Sumlin), that was kind of always the like, ‘Okay, this is what the SEC looks like,'” he said. “I think our program grew. We started to get closer and closer. Obviously, that 20 My first experience was going down there and playing the 2019 team. That wasn’t a lot of fun, but that was, historically, one of the best teams in college football. I think when we went down there in ’21 it was obviously a much more competitive game from a physical standpoint, and I think that’s the gap that we’ve tried to close as a program. So obviously, you know, the series has been very balanced since I’ve been here in 2018. Someone’s going to crack through at some point on the road, and Saturday’s an opportunity for us.”

LSU’s offense has struggled all season, setting a season high in scoring against FBS opponents last weekend in a 31-24 loss to Vanderbilt. Even with the Tigers’ struggles running the football (116th nationally) and injuries on the offensive line, Elko said the Aggies were well aware of the abilities of quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.

“An extremely talented quarterback with a lot of weapons and the ability to distribute the football. He’ll be a high draft pick,” Elko said of Nussemier. “He’ll be a successful NFL quarterback for a really long time. I just have a ton of respect for who he is as a player and the way he goes out there and competes.”

If the Aggies were to slow down Nussmeier and continue LSU’s offensive issues, Elko repeated his feeling that the defense would have to play a whole lot better and stop making the same mistakes repeatedly.

“I feel like this generation sometimes has to get burned on the stove over and over and over again before they stop putting their hand on it,” he said. “That was kind of how I talked to them today. Can we please make the corrections and make the adjustments before we don’t get the silver lining to adjust with? Hopefully that creates some urgency. Obviously this game and this opponent should create a lot of urgency.”