Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko had been honest with how head coaches are judged by the hair’s breadth in the SEC. “The margins are so small. Nobody outside of the business really can see how small the margins are. That’s why coaches are so stressed all the time,” said Elko. But hardly had he realized that his recent future had a big surprise awaiting him. The Aggies sealed a 34-17 victory against Billy Napier’s Florida Gators. And with this victory, Elko and co. whitewashed themselves, getting rid of two glaring issues. 

Finally, FINALLY, Texas A&M fixed their penalty bug. As Luke Evangelist tweeted, “Texas A&M had three penalties for 30 penalty yards tonight. That’s the lowest number of penalties and the least amount of penalty yards in the Mike Elko era 👍The nation’s second most penalized team had a clean performance tonight, apologies to the Coaches’ Cabo Fund 😂.” What did the head coach have to say about it?

Elko faced the media for a post-game presser. That’s when he was asked to grade his boys based on discipline. “I mean, obviously it’s been a work in progress. It’s going to continue to be a work in progress. It certainly helps us when we don’t go backwards. It makes the game easier to play, for sure…we did a good job tonight,” admitted proud Elko. The Aggies average 9.5 penalties per game, ranking near the top of the SEC in both flags and penalty yards. 

Last season, Elko’s program in 13 games, committed 98 penalties totaling 862 yards. Against the Auburn Tigers, Elko’s Texas A&M committed 13 penalties for 119 yards. While Elko could let out a big sigh of relief, he could not stop obsessing over the team’s performance, which was enough to fix another major loophole. 

The Aggie defense really settled in and started doing the right things, getting pressure, forcing punts. Elko’s defense answered the DJ Lagway question, who started off as a hot knife. He finished 10-for-12 in the first quarter with a pair of touchdowns. But Elko’s boys throttled him in the second half. Napier’s sophomore weapon went 3-for-10 the rest of the half and 8-for-15 in the second frame to finish 21-for-37, paired with two touchdowns. Defensive lineman Dayon Hayes stripped Lagway from behind.

Texas A&M opened strong with wins over UTSA and Utah State, though its defense bent just enough to give up 20-plus in both. But after their win against Florida, Elko’s defense sits with an average of 180.4 yards. “Yeah, the thing that I’m most impressed about today is how we played as a team…You know, we had the games where, you know, offensively we played well another day and defensively we didn’t, and offense kind of carried us…We needed the offense to make plays early to settle the defense down, and they did it. We needed the defense to make plays to pick the offense up, and they did it,” Elko sounded all confident. And here came another milestone.

Mike Elko sets a record after a chapter of discipline dilemma

After their victory, Evangelist dropped a tweet on how Elko made history. He wrote, “Mike Elko continues to take care of business. He’s now 18-1 as a head coach at home against unranked opponents, with 15 straight wins. Texas A&M is off to its best start since 2016 and its second 6-0 start since 1994. Just keep winning.” So, with this, the Aggies ended a 31-year drought.

Maybe this win and this record will help Elko get rid of their image, after the public intoxication hoopla. Texas A&M caught side eyes in the college football world when, during their face-off against Mississippi State, fans were arrested against intoxication charges. 

On October 4, Texas A&M Police reported: “Public Intoxication X 2. Responded to report of intoxicated subject in men’s restroom near Section 334/335. Called sober friend. Sober friend arrived intoxicated. Arrested. #BTHOmississippistate.” This happened even after Elko’s program had set strict alcohol sales rules at Kyle Field. 

The website read, “A mix of draft beer and wine will be available at concession areas and portable bars throughout the stadium, except at the 350 level on the east side which services the student section second deck.” They have also set a group called ‘Aggie Hospitality’, whose 250-strong members’ job is to recognize fake IDs and over-intoxication within the jurisdiction. Mike Elko is starting to win back the fans brick by brick. The next test? Cleaning things up off the field.