Though there was a lot to be happy with from Texas A&M's first game of 2026, there were two areas that fans keyed in on as looking pretty problematic: the offensive line and penalties. The Aggies had a pretty troublesome stretch in the middle of the first half that involved both factors: first, they surrendered back-to-back sacks leading to a punt, and then they recorded two straight holding penalties which ended up in another empty drive.
Those weren't the only penalties of the game, either— far from it. Texas A&M ended the day with 8 penalties for 75 yards, a mark that is the furthest thing from sustainable going forward. This was an issue in both of Mike Elko's first two years, which led to even more grousing from fans.
This was mostly drowned out, in the final analysis, by the good things that the Aggies put on tape— but it's still stuck with many fans. When Mike Elko took the podium today for his press conference, however, he let fly with a take that will confound those fans— but he has a great point in saying it.
Mike Elko's opinions on the offensive line and Aggie penalties should encourage fans
The first thing that Elko touched on was the young offensive line and how they played in the game, and, contrary to the disposition of many fans, he was bullish on their performance. He acknowledged the early struggles that they underwent, but his opinion was that this had less to do with a long-term issue and more to do with first-game anxieties— after all, this was the first major action for Blake Ivy, Tyler Thomas, and Lamont Rogers.
Mike Elko: "I thought the way that we grew into the game on offense, especially on the offensive line, was good to see. There were some guys out there that were really anxious, especially the two young guards."
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) September 7, 2026
Elko didn't make excuses for the way the offensive line played, of course— he provided context. One thing he did draw attention to was the way that Tyree Adams played as a major positive, which hasn't been discussed enough by fans.
Mike Elko on A&M's offensive line: "I thought there was a lot of good. Certainly some things that we had to clean up. It was a little bit of a storm in that it was some things that we hadn't practiced with the guys we had out there."
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) September 7, 2026
"We did not play to the level or standard…
Elko's take on the penalty issue that manifested in this game was refreshing as well. He drew a distinction between effort penalties and lack-of-focus penalties, and commented that most of what we saw this past week was the former rather than the latter.
Mike Elko on penalties: "You're always concerned. They were different. Last year, we had a lot of lazy focus penalties. A lot of them (in Week 1) were kind of on the line. I think Anto (Saka)'s was on the line. I thought Isaiah Horton's was on the line. The one they called on…
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) September 7, 2026
While that penalty yardage number is not something that the Aggies can allow to persist going forward, it is also true that several of the big calls were pretty ticky-tack on the part of the referees. Isaiah Horton's OPI penalty was something that receivers do nearly every single down, and Anto Saka's roughing the passer call was inscrutable on the part of the ref.
Time will have to tell on this one, of course— if the Aggies come out this Saturday and put up 50-plus yards in penalties again, then it's going to be a different conversation (barring something truly egregious on the part of the officials). But to hear Elko chime in on this discussion in this way has to be encouraging for Texas A&M fans— the head man knows what he's doing, and if he's encouraged, then fans should be as well.
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