Another blowout win for Texas A&M. But before the Aggies crushed Samford with a 48-0 beatdown, something far more human than a scoreboard unfolded at Kyle Field. And it involved the past, the present, and a quiet thank-you years in the making. Because just minutes before the No. 3 Aggies polished off their first 11-0 start since 1992, Mike Elko made a beeline across the field to Samford kicker Ethan Fisher, Jimbo Fisher’s son.

“I went over to him before the game when he was warming up and just told him I was proud of him to see him growing to what he’s become as a college player,” Mike Elko said in an X video posted by Texas A&M beat writer Carter Karels on November 22. “I’m glad he’s healthy, I’m glad he’s doing really well. He actually came up to me after the game and he wished us well and obviously Coach Fisher and his family did an awful lot for the Elkos and our family. We’re certainly not here without him and without his support. And so I appreciate it.”

That’s where the story folds into the larger arc of how Texas A&M even landed in this golden age.

When Jimbo Fisher yanked defensive coordinator Mike Elko out of Notre Dame in 2018, he was betting the future of the Aggies on a brain who once caused him fits. He rewarded the gamble with four rock-solid years in College Station, then launched himself into Duke, won 2022 ACC Coach of the Year, and ultimately came full circle when A&M brought him home as head coach in 2023.

Now, Mike Elko is 19-5 at Texas A&M, undefeated in Year 2, and one win away from the program’s first-ever CFP berth. But if you thought the Samford game was just a sentimental reunion, buckle up because the football side of this thing was pure carnage. 

The Aggies outgained them 360-25 in the first half while Samford posted minus-2 passing yards. They held an opponent under 100 yards for the first time since 1996. It was their seventh straight 30+ point game, a streak unmatched since the Johnny Manziel days in 2013.