Mike Elko Knows That Work Has To Be Done on Texas A&M's Offense

The No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies secured win number two to start the 2026 campaign in the form of a 48-20 blowout over the Arizona State Sun Devils this past Saturday.

Much similar to the season opener, Texas A&M's defense was the star of the show, especially in the fourth quarter, where they were able to force three straight turnovers, including two interceptions that turned into pick-sixes during a 24-point fourth quarter.

The specialties on defense made up for the seemingly lackluster production on offense, as the game was tightly-knit 24-20 in favor of the Aggies at the beginning of the fourth quarter with Marcel Reed and the rest of the offense struggling to deliver a consistent level of play.

"Obviously Not Good Enough"

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on during the first quarter against the Missouri State Bears at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Monday afternoon, during his weekly pregame press conference, Elko gave his take on the offense's performance against the Sun Devils, which, as many could presume, he also said there was much to be desired from his men.

"Obviously, it wasn't good enough for sure," Elko said, speaking specifically on the rushing game. "It is certainly an area that needs to improve. We have to be able to run the ball more effectively than that."

One week removed from a 236-yard rushing attack in the season opener against Missouri State, the Maroon and White could only form 92 yards on the ground against the Sun Devils last Saturday.

Elko then shifted to talking about the offensive line, which he attributed to the faulty ground game.

"I think when you look at the tape, you know, obviously I think we've got to do a better job of blocking up front. That's part of it. We've got to do a better job of running behind the blocks," Elko said. "We missed some blocks with perimeter guys having to block the extra guys that didn't get done at the level it needs to, so it was kind of breakdowns at all three levels that I think caused the deficiency."

And with SEC play now starting this weekend against the Kentucky Wildcats, the head coach knows that this flaw needs to be corrected, and fast.

"We are not going to be very successful much longer if we don't find better ways to run the football. There's no doubt about it."

The Aggies welcome the Wildcats to Kyle Field for their first meeting since 2018 when the two teams face off this Saturday at 2:30 PM.

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