2 More Positives From Texas A&M’s Win Over Auburn

In Saturday’s postgame press conference, the media met with Mike Elko and asked him about his thoughts on Texas A&M’s performance against the Auburn Tigers.

His response after a question indicated the frustration he was fuming with because of what the Aggies did well, rather than what they did poorly.

“Does anyone want to ask a question about the us being 4-0 for the first time since 2016 or how did the defense bounce back," Elko said. "How about you held them to 176 yards on offense and you have five sacks and they were 0 for 12 on third down and 0 for two on fourth down and you got the return game going again.”

A&M’s offense finished with 414 yards of offense, with 207 yards passing and 207 yards rushing. The offense totaled 69 plays with 21 first downs. Defensively, the crew prevented the Auburn offense from converting a third down and recorded five sacks.

“I don’t mean to sound like someone else, but my gosh,” Elko said. “Would you guys stop being so dreadful and gloomy?”

Moving The Sticks

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball against the McNeese State Cowboys during the second quarter. — Sep 7, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) runs the ball against the McNeese State Cowboys during the second quarter at Kyle Field. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Quarterback Marcel Reed led his troops to control the time of possession category. There were times when Auburn continued to push A&M’s buttons on third down, but when the offense was able to move the chains, the sustained drives made a difference.

“He had a great day,” Elko said. “He was more accurate today than Notre Dame. He had another deep ball that he would like to have back.”

Collin Klein’s scheme with the play-calling duties saw a significant test. Establishing the ground game was a massive factor in keeping the Tigers' defense on its toes. Klein got six rushers involved and made sure that the ball got pounded down the throats of the Tigers, averaging 4.4 yards per rush.

Senior running back Le’Veon Moss led the room with 21 carries for over half of the rushing yards, with 139 on the ground. The El Campo, Texas, native Rueben Owens also had his best game of the year with 52 yards on three carries. The speedster, Amari Daniels, also contributed to wearing down the Auburn defense with 12 carries for 42 yards.

“It was a statement game today for us, the offensive line and running backs really,” Moss said. “It’s a big old family in the running back room.”

Heading into the week, Elko knew that both his receivers and secondary would be tested, giving credit to what coach Hugh Freeze has done with his program. The receiving group was also in tight coverage all afternoon, but was able to produce numbers.

When one receiver doesn’t step up, another one does. KC Concepcion was the best option for Reed to rifle the ball to. With seven receptions for 113 yards, he consistently ran the right routes, found the open window, and racked up yards after the catch.

While it was a quieter day for Mario Craver, who only had four receptions for 34 yards, he worked quietly without complaints, and so did the rest of his teammates. From the chemistry working as one unit, it was plenty for A&M to pull out a physical 16-10 win.

“We won two games without playing our best football,” Elko said. “That is a testament to character and culture.”

Defense Steps Up

Texas A&M Aggies linebacker Taurean York celebrates after a win against the Utah State Aggies at Kyle Field. | Sean Thomas-Imagn Images

Auburn knew traveling to College Station, Texas, would require more out of its offensive line after giving up way too many sacks to the Oklahoma Sooners. The formula for A&M was simple: rack up the sacks and make quarterback Jackson Arnold feel the pressure. It was successful.

Arnold was constantly running around for his life and getting popped like he was in a pinball machine. His offensive line didn’t do much to help the rushing attack, as the Aggies' big playmakers applied pressure.

One of the biggest stops came in the fourth quarter when the Aggies’ offense failed to convert a first down that would’ve sent the Tigers packing their bags earlier than they wanted. Instead, the Aggies punted the ball away and asked the defense to finish the job.

Defensive end Dayon Hayes hammered Arnold on a fourth-and-one play that wrapped up any hope Auburn had of knocking off A&M with the game-winning sack. There were other pivotal sequences in which the tired defense made a difference, including two fourth-quarter sacks by linebackers Tauren York and Cashius Howell that forced a three-and-out with seven minutes left.

“That’s God’s work,” York said.

In the secondary, cornerbacks Will Lee III and Dezz Ricks had a tremendous day, working against the Auburn receiver duo of Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. Lee was second on the defense with six tackles, also registering four solo tackles and a pass breakup. With Lee in coverage against Coleman, he forced Coleman to have only one reception on three targets for four yards.

Ricks has also progressed since last season, with three solo tackles and a pass breakup. Safeties Marcus Ratcliffe and Dalton Brooks each had three solo tackles, making Arnold’s day miserable with only 125 yards in the air.

The Aggies’ run defense also limited any damaging plays with chunk yardage. Albert Regis and Tyler Onyedim led the defensive line, combining for nine total tackles. Regis also had a pass breakup. Elko thought highly of what he saw overall, but indicated that putting together an entire clean game would help.

“If we can figure out how to put together four full quarters, the ceiling is high,” Elko said.