Texas A&M went into the College Football Playoff with just one loss all season, and despite a great overall effort, couldn’t outdo the visiting Miami Hurricanes in Saturday’s first round.
The game featured a defensive battle between the No. 7 Aggies and the No. 10 Hurricanes, with neither team scoring in the first half. The two teams held each other to field goals for most of the second half, with a touchdown by Miami’s Malachi Toney the difference maker.
Along with that, the Hurricanes’ Mark Fletcher Jr. erupted for 172 rushing yards on 12 carries, including a 56-yard breakaway to help his team.
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Following the game, Aggies head coach Mike Elko addressed his team’s loss, noting they weren’t exactly where he wanted them to be to compete for a national championship.
According to Elko during his postgame press conference, his team failed to control the line of scrimmage in Saturday’s game, which he suggested was a breakdown on both sides of the ball. Along with that, his Aggies couldn’t establish their run game and became one-dimensional on offense.
That allowed Miami to completely dictate the game physically down the stretch against A&M.
“You can’t play playoff football and not win the line of scrimmage,” Elko said.
“I see the direction that it’s trending. Eight wins to 11 wins. I see the direction it’s trending. We’re going to finish the season ranked. That hasn’t happened in a while around here,” Elko told reporters.
“What has to happen? We have to continue to elevate. We have to continue to move this thing in the right direction. We have to continue to make positive strides building this program,” he said, adding, “We were not an elite program ready to compete for a national championship when we took over. We’re still not.”
According to Elko, the two recent games have shown there are areas where Texas A&M has room to improve if it wants to be at that elite level and among the national championship contenders.
He credited the players for putting them in the position they were with a spot in the CFP, but maintained there’s “a lot of work to do to continue to develop this program into what ultimately it needs to become.”
The Aggies’ Marcel Reed finished with 237 yards on 25-of-39 completions, along with 27 rushing yards. The sophomore quarterback is among the bright spots for Elko’s team, and one has to believe he’d return for another run at the CFP.
Elko took over last season after coaching two seasons at Duke. He’s taken the Texas A&M team from a loss in the Las Vegas Bowl last season to a loss in the first round of the CFP this season. With that, they may be trending towards that big first-round win next season.
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