Texas A&M coach Mike Elko believes his team maintains a strong focus on improving, regardless of their performance.
He said this won’t change after the Aggies’ best game of the year.
“I think that means the messaging is getting through,” Elko said this week. “We’ve tried to attack this thing from a mindset of we need to improve every week.”
The Aggies (7-1) are getting a lot of praise right now as the only undefeated team in Southeastern Conference play at 5-0, and they want to keep aiming for the league title game against South Carolina (4-3, 2-3) on Saturday night.
Elko heard this message from several players during the week’s preparations, including backup quarterback Marcel Reed, who led a second-half comeback to defeat LSU 38-23 last week.
“Marcel on national TV, talking about the next opportunity,” Elko said. “I think they’re locked in on what we’re capable of.”
To succeed, Texas A&M needs to beat the Gamecocks, who have challenged LSU and Alabama this season and recently won at Oklahoma.
LSU managed to score with less than two minutes left to escape with a 36-33 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium two months ago. The Gamecocks were also driving against Alabama in the final minute before an interception led to a 27-25 win for the Crimson Tide.
South Carolina coach Shane Beamer said the win at Oklahoma boosted his team’s confidence as they look to make an impact in the final month of the season.
“We know we have five games to finish the season and it is all out there in front of us,” he said. “We don’t talk about big picture other than that and what matters is this week.”
Defensive end Nic Scourton is having a great start in his first season at Texas A&M after transferring from Purdue. He is projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick and has recorded 10 tackles for loss and four sacks in five SEC games. He ranks second in the nation and first in the SEC with 12 ½ tackles for loss this season.
