Everything Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said about Mississippi State

The Aggies' coach didn't have any highlight reel quotes like in his post-game press conference, but he did talk about the Bulldogs on Monday.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts during the third quarter against the Auburn Tigers at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Mississippi State’s upcoming opponent’s head coach made some headlines Saturday after Texas A&M beat Auburn 16-10.

“Does anyone want to ask a question about us being 4-0 for the first time since 2016? Or how did the defense bounce back? Or how about you held them to 176 yards on offense, and you had five sacks, and they were 0-12 on third down and 0-2 on fourth down and you got the return game going again?" Aggies’ coach Mike Elko said. "I don’t mean to sound like someone else, but my gosh would you guys stop being so dreadful and gloomy."

That was during the post-game press conference after receiving a few questions about mistakes and penalties and he makes a good point.

Texas A&M, ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll and No. 5 in the US LBM Coaches Poll, is off to its best start in almost a decade. But the Aggies, and college football fans in general, have seen this movie that usually ends in a shocking, upset loss or two.

Maybe this year will be different? But Mississippi State will have a chance to be the team to upset the Aggies this week.

We covered everything Bulldogs’ coach Jeff Lebby and players said yesterday.

Elko also held his weekly Monday press conference. You can view the full thing here, but here’s what the Aggies’ second-year coach said about Mississippi State:

In his opening statement…

"Moving on to Mississippi State, excited to be back at home in Kyle Field, excited to play another really talented SEC football team, and I'm sure Kyle Field will be rocking Saturday night. Just excited to get back at it."

Just what have you seen from Mississippi State this year? And how do you think that Jeff Lebby's turned the team around from last year?

"Yeah, obviously it's another SEC game. They're an extremely talented team. I think Jeff is a phenomenal offensive coach. I think they do a really, really good job testing you. They'll stretch you sideline to sideline. They stretch you horizontally, they stretch you vertically. They run a spread offense, but they're really physical in how they run the football. I think that's the thing that not a lot of people talk about with that offense, is how committed they are and how much they want to run the football well. And they do that really well. One of the things as a head coach that you watch is sideline energy, sideline engagement, sideline interaction on the film, and they're an extremely energetic group. Which means they've got a lot of confidence in the program and what they're doing. I'm sure they're going to come in here and play their absolute best football Saturday night."

And has Mario Craver opened up to you about facing his former team and what it means to him?

"No, trying not to make a big deal about that. It's just another game for him."

Mississippi State's running backs last weekend combined for like 40 carries and almost 200 yards. When you see that does it kind of remind you of Notre Dame, facing a couple of running backs that are really talented but then a quarterback that can move around and throw it as well?

"Yeah, I just think systematically it's a lot different. So, yes, from a standpoint of talent, yeah, for sure. They're an extremely talented backfield. We saw that firsthand with Booth last year. He had a really good day against us last year. We didn't see the quarterback. I thought they were a more efficient offense when he was playing quarterback last year. They're certainly a more efficient offense with him at quarterback this year. It's just a different style of offense. So the plays come at you a little bit differently. I don't know that you draw that comparison to Notre Dame, you're just featuring a really talented group."