Texas A&M Football: Is Mike Elko’s defense good enough to cover for Haynes King?

The Texas A&M Football team’s chances of a National Title season was set back this weekend when Haynes King went down with a worrisome injury. The Aggie quarterback could walk off under his own power, but he would go back to the locker room for the remainder of the game.

The injury should be taken seriously, as Jimbo Fisher surely would have sent his new quarterback back into the game while at risk of losing to Colorado. The fact that King was not put back in should be concerning.

Thankfully, the Aggie defense had a dominant enough day to make up for the fact that the offense was working behind their backup quarterback. Actually, the better way to phrase it would be to say that the offense was not working.

Still, the defense held Colorado to just seven points, all of which were scored early in the game. The Buffaloes managed just 260 total yards thanks to a strong performance by Mike Elko’s defense.

Unfortunately, A&M’s dominant defensive performance wasn’t able to ward off the team’s offensive shortcomings, which raises the ultimate question.

Is the Texas A&M Football team’s defense dominant enough under Mike Elko to cover for Haynes King?

Say what you want about Zach Calzada — it’s clear that the offense was crippled with the backup passer in the game. As things stand, we don’t know how long King will be out — not even a clue.

Even if Isaiah Spiller or Devon Achane play at an All-American level, this offense won’t be able to produce as well as without King in the game. This leads to the aforementioned question: will Texas A&M’s defense be strong enough to cover for King?

Right now, the answer looks like a fat “no.” Sure, the Aggies’ dominant performance against a sneaky opponent in Colorado was great to see, but what happens when you try to do the same against Alabama? Heck, it wouldn’t be irrational to be worried as a fan about a game against Arkansas, a team that just scored over 40 points against Texas.

The real challenge, however, will be beating Alabama. If King isn’t back by the time the ‘Bama game rolls around, A&M’s chances of knocking down the greatest dynasty in the history of college football shrink even more.

So far, the defense does look to be in good hands, led primarily by players like Leon O’Neal, DeMarvin Leal, and Jayden Peevy. The talent on this unit is unquestionable.

The sad truth, however, is the fact that ten points will not cut it against the important teams on this schedule. If you’re asking me whether or not the defense will be good enough to cover for the offense against Alabama — I’d give a confident no.

Thankfully, we may not have seen this offenses ceiling under Calzada. Next week, Texas A&M will have a fully prepared Calzada. Rather than a somewhat run-heavy scheme for the quarterback, this team will likely shift back to a more pro-style look.

Again, A&M’s defense may not be good enough based on what we saw in Boulder, but they can get there.