Texas A&M aims for 4-0 as coach Mike Elko challenges fans’ mindset

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — Coming off a thrilling triumph at Notre Dame, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko knows his team’s fans are reticent to fully celebrate big wins because of the Aggies’ recent tendency to disappoint after such victories.

Elko doesn’t like that mindset and wants everyone to embrace his team’s early success as No. 9 Texas A&M looks to improve to 4-0 Saturday in its Southeastern Conference opener against Auburn.

“You love Texas A&M football, so get excited,” Elko told the Houston Touchdown Club last week. “Stop being scared and get excited about what this program is doing. It’s not fair to look at past failures and eliminate how you feel about where Texas A&M football is going.”

The Aggies hope this is the year they finally get over the hump and reach their first SEC title game after winning more than nine games just once since joining the conference. That came in their first year in the league in 2012 when they went 11-2 behind Johnny Manziel’s Heisman Trophy-winning season.

Texas A&M was off last week after beating then-No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 on Sept. 13. They did it by putting together a 13-play, 74-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass by Marcel Reed with 13 seconds left. It snapped a streak of 13 straight road losses to ranked opponents and was the first time they’d beat an AP Top 25 team since defeating No. 3 Auburn in 2014.

“That was a huge step for our program,” Elko said. “That’s the biggest thing. When you get in those moments, you ultimately have to find a way to get the job done to keep the program moving forward.”

Though he’s encouraged by the Aggies’ strong start, he knows they’ll have to do much more to get to where they want to go.

“Three weeks does not make a finish,” he said. “We still have a lot of things we’ve got to do.”

This week they’ll face an Auburn team trying to move forward after a 24-17 loss at then-No. 11 Oklahoma last week that knocked the Tigers out of the poll.

“We’ve got to rebound,” coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s a tough league and a tough loss last week, but we’ve got to put it behind us as we go face another tough team … it’s a critical game for us to learn how we handle adversity and rebound.”

Protecting Arnold

The Tigers are looking to better protect Jackson Arnold after he was sacked nine times last week. Through four games, he’s been sacked 15 times and backup Deuce Knight has been taken down once to leave Auburn tied for second-most sacks allowed in the nation.

“You can’t take those sacks and win those games,” Freeze said. “We had some very difficult breaks go against us, but we’ve got to clean up the protection of the pocket. Jackson’s got to clean up getting rid of the ball when he can get rid of it.”

Craver and Concepcion

Texas A&M’s receiving duo of Mario Craver and K.C. Concepcion have been among the best in the nation this season. Craver, who transferred from Mississippi State, and Concepcion, an N.C. State transfer, have given the Aggies the explosive playmaking ability the team lacked last season.

Their presence has helped the Aggies produce 22 plays of 20 yards or longer.

Craver was named The Associated Press national player of the week for his performance against the Fighting Irish when he had career highs with seven catches for 207 yards, including an 86-yard touchdown.

He ranks third in the nation with 443 yards receiving in just three games while the two players ahead of him both played four and his four TD receptions lead the team. Concepcion is second on the team with 227 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

Fields out

Auburn WR Horatio Fields is out indefinitely after breaking his foot in practice this week. Fields, who transferred from Wake Forest, ranks third on the team with 106 yards receiving and a touchdown.

With Fields out, Freeze expects Perry Thompson to fill in. Thompson has played sparingly this season and has just two catches for 11 yards.

“Perry has the potential and talent to do really good things,” Freeze said. “He’s got to learn to do them consistently, over and over again, and with technique. He shows flashes of that. Now we just need it to be more consistent, but he’ll be the first one to get that opportunity.”

On the run

The Tigers have been great against the run this season and rank fifth in the nation by allowing only 58.2 yards rushing a game. This week they’ll face a team that is averaging 157 yards rushing. A&M’s running game is led by Le’Veon Moss, who has 33 carries for 168 yards and four touchdowns. They’ll also have to account for the scrambling of Reed, who is second on the team with 142 yards rushing and a score.

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