COLLEGE STATION, TX – Luckily for Mike Elko and the Texas A&M Aggies, college football isn’t a question of how, but of how many. 

No one will look back on the 16-10 win over Auburn and remember how unimpressive it was if the Aggies win at least 10 games and reach the College Football Playoff. And that’s good news because none of the 108,449 in attendance, or the millions watching at home, want to remember any of the 60 minutes played against the Tigers. It was ugly. It was sloppy. It was a forgettable performance by both teams. But Elko & Co won’t care because apologies are unnecessary for winners in the SEC. 

The Aggies are 4-0 to start the season with a 1-0 mark in conference play with home games against Mississippi State and Florida to follow. 

“We’re happy. We’re 4-0,” Elko said. “The ceiling for this team is a lot higher (than we saw today) if we can figure out how to put four quarters together and that will be our challenge heading into next week.” 

THREE THOUGHTS 

No killer instinct: Texas A&M outgained Auburn 414-155 and had numerous opportunities to put the game to bed. The Tigers were begging to be put out of their misery. The Aggies wouldn’t oblige. Auburn was 0-for-12 on third down, 0-for-2 on fourth down, and averaged 2.2 yards rushing on 24 attempts. Quarterback Jackson Arnold only averaged 7.3 yards a completion. The Wrecking Crew accounted for five sacks and six tackles for loss. 

Yet, Auburn had the ball twice with a chance to go win over the last two minutes of the game. Unforced errors were the main culprit. The Aggies committed 13 penalties for 119 yards. They fumbled the ball twice, though they recovered both. The Auburn offense could’ve played for 10 hours and not scored on a long drive against the Wrecking Crew, but an errant pass to Terry Bussey was tipped into the air and returned 73 yards to set up the lone Tigers touchdown drive – a one-play, two-yard gift to cut the Texas A&M lead to 13-10 with 10:20 left in the game. 

“We’ve created too many penalties. It’s got to get fixed,” Elko said. “Way too many penalties that kill drives. Way too many penalties that put us behind the sticks. If you put that together with not being able to convert third downs that’s how you have 414 yards and not enough points with what 414 yards should get you.” 

The mistakes didn’t end of costing Texas A&M, but that had more to do with Auburn’s offensive ineptitude than anything the Aggies did. The question for A&M after this game is: How many of the remaining eight opponents would’ve been beaten with that type of performance? Samford, for sure. Probably Arkansas. Maybe Florida? Everyone else likely would’ve left Kyle Field with a win, including a Mississippi State team that looks much improved. 

The SEC is wide open and this Texas A&M squad, at its best, can play with anybody left on the schedule. They can win at LSU and Missouri and Texas. All three of those teams are also flawed. Everything is in front of the Aggies and this performance can serve as the warning they needed to clean up the penalties and bone-headed plays. This could be a big season. Or, it can be another 8-4 campaign if the Aggies don’t fix these mistakes. 

“We led start to finish in an SEC football game against a team that was 0-1 and had their backs against the wall,” Elko said. “I’m not going to apologize for that.” 

No apologies necessary: The first few questions after the win over Auburn bugged Elko. He took exception as person after person asked about penalties, sloppiness, and poor offensive execution after an SEC win. His Aggies are 4-0 for the first time since 2016 and ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll. He wanted to talk about the positives, not the negatives. 

“Does anyone want to ask a question about us being 4-0 for the first time since 2016? Or how did the defense bounced back? Or how you held them to 176 yards on offense and had five sacks and they were 0-for-12 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down and you got the return the game going again? I don’t mean to sound like somebody else, but my gosh, can you guys stop being so dreadful and gloomy?”

Much was made about Aggie Battered Syndrome since knocking off Notre Dame. Aggieland wants to believe, but they’re not exactly sure how to let go of past trauma. Elko does. He wants blinders on towards the present and the future. What happened before he was head coach is of no concern to him. What happened when these players were kids or before they were born doesn’t impact the 2025 season. 

He's right, of course. But it makes sense that the fan base, and the reporters who’ve watched decades of Aggie football, would struggle to let it go. The Aggies were always the sleeping giant. The program on the cusp of greatness that couldn’t quite turn the corner. Wins like the ones against Auburn aren’t sexy, but they’re necessary. Championship teams aren’t always built on blowout losses. They’re occasionally built on winning ugly games and finding ways to survive on off days like today. 

Wrecking Crew responds: The penalties and poor situational play on offense shouldn’t overshadow a stellar performance by a much-maligned defense. Auburn only gained 177 yards, averaged just 2.2 yards per run, and went 3-and-out on six of its 13 drives. The average drive for the Tigers was four plays for 11 yards. Texas A&M entered Week 5 ranked 72nd in rushing yards allowed per game at 139 per game. Auburn ended with 52. 

Arnold completed just 55 percent of his passes for 125 yards on 33 attempts. That’s 3.78 yards per attempt. The Tigers averaged 3.1 yards per play on 57 snaps. The Aggies excelled at getting off the field as Auburn was a combined 0-of-15 on third and fourth down. And they limited big plays while only allowing one pass play over 14 yards and no runs over 10. 

Elko is the head coach at Texas A&M because of his defensive acumen but his defense hasn’t been dominant since coming back to College Station. The Aggies entered Week 5 ranked 103rd in scoring defense while allowing 28.7 points per game. They’re 72nd in run defense and 69th in passing defense. They’re 117th in turnovers gained. You get the point. 

Auburn isn’t great offensively and larger challenges for the Wrecking Crew are ahead, but this was a great step in the right direction.