COLLEGE STATION, Texas – In the final years of the Jimbo Fisher era, Texas A&M football embodied the phrase “all hat, no cattle.”

The program was defined not by the championships Fisher had to deliver, but by his shortcomings. Instead of winning rings — or filling in the blanks on the plaque handed to Fisher in 2018 by Chancellor John Sharp — A&M has become a disappointment over the past two years: an overexposed program with recruiting rankings and preseason hype that doesn’t managed to fit. field results. The to the Aggies peak in the Fisher era, a 9-1 record, near miss a College Football Playoff and a top-five finish in 2020, has been the exception — not the rule — under Fisher.

Mike Elko, who served as Fisher’s defensive coordinator for four years but left the program after the 2021 season to become head coach at leadhe was well aware of the national narrative surrounding the team when he returned to Aggieland in November to replace Fisher. Elko also knew what A&M needed: a radically different approach.

Elko rarely makes headlines in his press conferences. You won’t find him trading blows with his SEC counterparts like Fisher did when he responded to accusations from Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin. In more than two decades as a defensive assistant, mostly in spots far off the radar of casual fans, Elko has perfected the art of keeping his head down, getting the job done and letting the results tell the story.

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And what a story Aggies say in 2024, with Victory no. 14 Texas A&M 38-23 over No. LSU. 8 on Saturday night as the latest triumph. Eight games into Elko’s first year, A&M is alone atop the SEC, entering November as the only undefeated team in the conference. And he’s a serious Playoff contender.

This A&M team is much more substance than style.

“We stand by our actions,” Elko said. “We are very honest. We are very open. And this is a real program. It’s not fake. He’s not a politician running this program, talking fast and cheering everyone on.”

Texas A&M backup quarterback Marcel Reed rushed for three touchdowns in the second half Saturday. (Maria Lysaker/Imagn Images)

It’s unclear if that was intended as a jab at Fisher, who speaks at a fast pace. It came in response to a question to Elko about how he found success so quickly in both Year 1 at Duke and A&M. It’s hard to ignore the connection, but Elko was careful and measured when talking about A&M’s recent past, choosing not to take veiled shots at his predecessor and his former boss, making it less likely that he would point the finger directly here.

Elko pointed to his messages to the players, the culture they’ve built and the time he and his staff put in to form relationships with the players

“I’m not one of those guys who hugs and pats them on the back,” Elko said, “but I’m with them all the time and I think they appreciate that.”

What happened for nearly four hours Saturday night in front of the third-largest crowd in Kyle Field history said the narrative around A&M is changing.

Now the Aggies have a chance to do something they never did under the coach they guaranteed nearly $95 million: win the SEC and make the playoffs.

“Where I was from when I got here and all the rhetoric around this program was NIL and mercenaries and selfishness and all that stuff, to see where we are now … that’s a credit to these kids in the locker room,” Elko said . “It’s a credit to their character. It’s a credit to who they are.”

If A&M’s season opener, a 23-13 loss at home Notre Damewas the last time you checked in on the Aggies, things have changed dramatically since then. They won seven games in a row – some ugly, some dominant. But they continue to find a way every week.

GO DEEPER

Marcel Reed, Texas A&M takes solo lead in SEC after furious rally past LSU

Saturday night was a perfect example. Trailing 17-7 with less than five minutes left in the first half and LSU pushing to extend that lead, Texas A&M looked like it was headed for the danger zone.

But they came out in the second half looking like a different team. After the LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier picked the Aggies apart in the first half, the defense found ways to pressure him in the second. They took it three times and turned up the heat.

Offensively, Elko made the shrewd decision to bench him as the starting quarterback Conner Weigman for backup Marcel Reedand the offense scored on its next five drives. The change in momentum was instantaneous.

Yes, there are flaws with these Aggies, and Elko pointed them out afterward, from penalties to turnovers. But this college football season, why not Texas A&M and its first-year head coach?

“They learn what it means to be a winner and how you go from being a talented football player to a winner,” Elko said. “They do the things that winners do, right? They play extremely hard. He tenses up. They play together. They finish.”

These are all things that could not be consistently associated with the Aggies in the recent past. Under Fisher, the problems within the program it ranged from a loose, undisciplined culture to a reluctance to evolve the offense to poor roster management. When lined up across from the Alabamas, Georgias and LSUs of the college football world, the Aggies didn’t look much different. But the lack of attention to detail showed on the scoreboard. Texas A&M went 12-13 in Fisher’s final two seasons and hadn’t won a road game in more than two years.

On his return, Elko instilled discipline by making punctuality a non-negotiable. He instituted the organization and structure, but allowed the players the freedom to be themselves as long as they took care of business. With the help of an organized and efficient personnel department, he replenished the roster, filling gaps with experienced transfers. And once the games started, he pushed the right buttons when needed.

So far, it’s helping the Aggies reverse negative trends, especially at Kyle Field. For every big moment from the 102,733-seat palace – including the 2021 upset Alabama and seven-overtime win over LSU in 2018 — there have been plenty of home losses that have dashed optimism in the Aggies’ quest for SEC relevance. BROWN in 2013. Ole Miss in 2014 and 2016. The Appalachian State disaster in 2022.

With Texas A&M’s 24-20 home record against SEC teams entering this season and 10-15 home record against ranked teams, opponents have grown comfortable in big games at Kyle Field. Although the The Aggies lost the opener to Notre Damethey are 2-0 in SEC home games this season, batting Missouri earlier this month.

Before Saturday night, A&M and LSU had met eight times, when both were ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. LSU won all eight until the Aggies snapped that streak on Saturday.

It’s not like everything is where Elko wants it yet. There is a quarterback situation the coaches will have to deal with in deciding whether to stick with Reed or go back to Weigman. The Aggies need to defend better and be more productive in the passing game. Penalties were an issue Saturday: A&M was 10 for 101 yards.

But looking at their schedule, it’s not hard for the Aggies to win the next three: at South Carolinavs. State of New Mexico and at Auburn. That would put them at 10-1 heading into the regular season finale: a home game against no. 5 Texasa long-awaited renewal of their heated rivalry in the state, which has been dormant since 2011.

This Nov. 30 tilt might be the most anticipated game at Kyle Field since their last meeting 13 years ago, before the Aggies left the Big 12 for the SEC (only for the Longhorns to initiate the same move a decade later) . If both teams enter with double-digit wins, the Playoff storylines and stakes for that will create unparalleled drama.

But there’s a lot of work to be done before A&M can consider such a milestone. Elko said that as soon as Saturday’s game ended, his mind immediately turned to South Carolina.

“The price of success and the price of winning games like this is that you now have a target on your back,” he said. “And so what 5-0 (in the SEC) means is we’re going to have a heck of a time trying to get to 6-0.”

Eleven months after Elko’s hire, A&M heads into November in pole position in the SEC race. It’s a position few would have pegged the Aggies for entering the season and seemingly less likely after the Aug. 31 loss to the Fighting Irish.

In the meantime, they will continue to work, letting their play do the talking. By now, everyone should be listening.

“We have an amazing opportunity right now that we really want to take advantage of,” Elko said. “And to do that, we still have a lot of work to do.”

(Top photo: Tim Warner/Getty Images)