Texas A&M’s Statement Win Over LSU Proves Mike Elko’s Aggies Are for Real

When a college football team hasn’t won a national championship since before integration, it’s fair to look at its status as a championship contender with a sizable grain of salt.

That’s certainly true of Texas A&M, which claims three national titles but the last of which came in 1939, mere months after World War II began.

It’s time to start believing that this Texas A&M team is different. If the Aggies’ Week 2 win at Notre Dame was an announcement that they were legitimate, Saturday’s win at LSU upped the ante.

Playing in a hostile Death Valley stadium where opponents normally crumble, it was Texas A&M that made LSU do the crumbling.

Trailing 18-14 at half, the Aggies outscored the Tigers 35-0 in the second half before a garbage-time LSU touchdown with 59 seconds left. In what had been a house of horrors for Texas A&M -- 0-5 in Baton Rouge, La. since joining the Southeastern Conference -- the Aggies delivered a 49-25 statement win.

Texas A&M beat LSU so badly it got Brian Kelly fired.

But don’t tell coach Mike Elko it was a statement win.

"We're not making statements,” Elko said. “We're happy we won. We’re excited to go into the bye week.”

With the victory, Texas A&M is 8-0 for the first time since 1992. You have to go back to 1975 to find a Texas A&M team ranked higher.

When the Aggies gave Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher a fully guaranteed 10-year, $75 million contract, and all he gave them was a single top-five finish and no College Football Playoff appearances before they paid him $77 million to go away, they were a college football punchline.

As the two-year anniversary of Fisher’s firing approaches, who’s laughing now? It’s safe to say Texas A&M fans may be getting the last laugh as Fisher’s replacement has assembled what looks to be one of the more complete college football teams this season.

The Aggies defense is led by its future NFL talent on the defensive line. Even though Texas A&M lost a pair of edge rushers taken in the first two rounds of April’s draft, it leads the country with 32 sacks this season after racking up seven Saturday night. The secondary is deep, talented and plays physically, channeling exactly what the team’s defense-minded head coach is looking to see.

The offense is anchored by quarterback Marcel Reed, who has taken a huge step forward in his second full season as a starter. In eight games, he’s already thrown for more yards (1,972) and touchdowns (17) than he did last year. He threw for two scores and ran for two more in the LSU win, his fifth game with a passing and rushing touchdown this season.

Reed’s job has definitely been made easier by an offensive line which has allowed seven sacks all season (none vs. LSU), and a pair of big-play, transfer receivers in Mario Craver and KC Concepcion who have combined for 1,261 yards and 11 touchdown catches.

If the Aggies get past a 19th-ranked Missouri team which lost its starting quarterback to injury Saturday next week, a 12-0 regular season seems quite likely. The main hurdle at that point would be a trip to Texas the day after Thanksgiving.

After the Big Ten won the last two national titles, the SEC has been desperate to get back to the top. The Aggies are looking like the conference’s best shot this season.