Mike Elko knows that a lot will be on the line for Texas A&M in the 2025 college football season. Coming off a solid Week 1 win over UTSA, the Aggies' coach hopes to see his team continue to make improvements in his second year at the helm.
Texas A&M was in position to make the playoffs in 2024, but went just 1-3 in its final four games to end the year unranked. Elko pointed out that he took over a team that went just 12-14 in its previous two years, and they are only now getting used to becoming a winning program again.
“We had a really good first year,” Elko said on SiriusXM radio. “We had the third-best first year of any active SEC coach currently in the conference. That was coming off a year, or two years, where we hadn't been very good as a program. When you look at the big picture of it, we did a lot of really good things last year. When you look specifically at the last three games, we didn't finish the way we wanted to.
“There's a lot that goes into that. I think we put ourselves in positions that we haven't been in. Competing as a frontrunning team down the stretch with really important games. So now it's learning how to handle those situations. It's learning how to be the hunted team in November and trying to do everything we can to get back in that situation so we can prove we made the necessary adjustments to handle it better.”
In Year 1, @AggieFootball almost made it to Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game
What does Year 2 hold for @CoachMikeElko in College Station? The Texas A&M HC shared his thoughts with @RoddyJones20 & @BenHartsock!#GigEm pic.twitter.com/kCB0IJ9m4J
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) September 5, 2025
The Aggies started the 2025 season off on the right foot, beating a tough UTSA team 42-24 in Week 1. They remain at home and look to keep the momentum going in Week 2 against Utah State.
Mike Elko leads Texas A&M into Week 2 matchup with Utah State
After beating the Roadrunners, Texas A&M looks to begin the 2025 college football season with a 2-0 record for the first time since 2021. The Aggies are an overwhelming 32.5-point favorite to win the game after closing Week 1 as a 24-point favorite.
While the game seems like a layup, Texas A&M has a massive matchup with Notre Dame looming in Week 3. The Utah State game is very much a must-win affair, with the Aggies needing to avoid the trap and gather as much momentum as possible.
Texas A&M and Notre Dame will meet for the second consecutive year, having faced each other in Week 1 of the 2024 season. The previous meeting marked Elko's debut with the Aggies, which the Irish won 23-13.
