Everything Texas A&M HC Mike Elko said on the Pat McAfee Show before facing Missouri

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Before No. 3 Texas A&M (8-0, 5-0 SEC) takes on No. 22 Missouri (6-2, 2-2 SEC) in Columbia on Saturday afternoon, second-year head coach Mike Elko has made the media rounds, including Wednesday night’s weekly appearance on the Aggie Football Hour. On Thursday afternoon, Elko stopped by the Pat McAfee Show to further preview this weekend’s massive showdown.

With four games remaining in the regular season, Texas A&M is widely viewed as one of the best teams in college football, but after the first edition of the CFP rankings revealed the Aggies at the No. 3-ranked team behind No. 2 Indiana and No. 1 Ohio State, all that matters now is winning out and securing a spot in the SEC Championship Game, which guarentees a CFP bid.

After blowing out LSU on the road 49-25, Texas A&M entered the bye week with plenty of momentum, but as we’ve seen in years past, November has not been kind to the Aggies, which has continued to hurt the program’s chances of making a run to the postseason, including last season’s 1-4 finish, including consecutive losses to Auburn and Texas before ending 8-5.

This season is different, and with road wins over Notre Dame and LSU, facing a desperate Missouri team on the road is just another challenge that starting quarterback Marcel Reed is looking forward to another challenge to silence the crowd.

Here is everything Mike Elko had to say on the Pat McAfee Show before facing the Missouri Tigers on Saturday afternoon.

Mike Elko on the progress his starting QB has made this season

“We had seen the development. We knew what he was capable of becoming. He can go out and make things happen with his athleticism. It’s hard to argue there’s a quarterback out there who’s been better in big moments this year.”

Mike Elko on how far the Aggies have come in Year 2

“We felt like we had a chance to take a huge step forward as a program. Last year we had a great first two months, but we didn’t finish it the right way. We had a great offseason and went into the season confident we could have a good year.”

Mike Elko on CFP Chair Mack Rhoades’s comments regarding the Aggies’ defense

“When it comes to the rankings, they have a really difficult task. Ultimately at the end of the day it’s going to get decided on the field. We’re looking forward to putting it all together at the level we know we’re capable of.”

Mike Elko on Texas A&M’s need to finish strong in November

“There’s expectation that if you spent that amount of money to make a change and you’re the guy we picked, they’re expecting results here. This is two years in a row we’ve put ourselves in position in November, but we’ve got to go finish it.”

It’s okay to enjoy Texas A&M’s current success

“Everybody wants to figure out how come this part isn’t perfect. The biggest thing that I’ve tried to get our fanbase and media around is it’s hard to win football games. We won on the road against a top 10 team for the first time since 1979. We won in Baton Rouge for the first time since 1994. We’re 8-0 for the first time since 1994. Those are long times ago, so let’s take a step back and enjoy that we’re winning.”

Mike Elko on the Aggie fan base showing up in Kyle Field

“It’s 10 straight games with 100,000+ fans in our stadium. The 12th Man always shows up and supports. We’ve had more people at Midnight Yell than other people have at their home games. It’s great to put together a season that these fans deserve.”

This team is different, that’s for sure

“When you get down to the bottom of that tunnel, there’s an energy and electricity that’s unmatched. It’s an unbelievable feeling leading that group out, and you feel especially good when the group behind you will lay it all on the line.”

It’s a good time to be an Aggie

“It’s a really good time right now to be a Fightin’ Texas Aggie, there’s no doubt about it.”

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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything Texas A&M HC Mike Elko said on the Pat McAfee Show

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