Against all odds, the Texas A&M Aggies have the perfect head coach for them moving forward in Mike Elko. No, there is nothing sexy about Elko, but he gets the job done. The guy knows defense and can marry that with the high-end recruits that come to College Station on the regular. It is why the Aggies are one of four programs with a 99-percent chance or better of making the College Football Playoff.
A perfect example of this is one play in particular that FanSided's Josh Yourish wrote about in his Table for 12 column for Saturday Blitz this past weekend. In a week where Marcel Reed did not fully have it, as well as being without Le'Veon Moss and Rueben Owens, Elko called up edge rusher extraordinaire Cashius Howell to be the difference maker he needed. Howell delivered for him here.
The game-sealing tackle of South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was Howell's big moment.
Fitting that Cashius Howell put the finishing touches on this insane comeback win for Texas A&M with the fourth down stop. Howell forced a sack the play before this, too.
— Bobby Football (@Rob__Paul) November 15, 2025
Howell came into today No. 7 in the nation in pass rush win rate (23.4%). pic.twitter.com/trgSA4ZU4c
It should be noted that Howell was the one to sack Sellers on the third-down play prior. So when it comes to Elko, he put his trust and faith into one of his star defensive players to make plays when the moment required it. South Carolina is not a good team, far from it in fact. However, nothing is ever given to you in SEC play, let alone a fringe rivalry game. Texas A&M need Howell to keep on doing this.
Elko perfectly empowered Howell to be the player to shake things up for A&M in its comeback bid.
Mike Elko showed everyone in Texas A&M he is worth every last penny
Even though the Aggies have not played the most arduous SEC schedule, this is not their fault. They still have the big non-conference win over Notre Dame in South Bend. To this point, the Aggies have successfully wrangled everyone on their schedule. While the LSU and Missouri games were thought to be of substance, neither team came close to making the playoff. Texas A&M has a date with Texas.
In a way, Elko is the perfect medicine this long underperforming football program was in need of. Rather than succumb to all the glitz and glamor in the wonderful world of NIL, Elko is there to be a steady hand, one that knows exactly what makes each of his players tick. He put the game in Howell's hands and he came through for him time and time again. This will matter come playoff time for A&M.
Overall, it has never been a talent issue for Texas A&M; it has been a lack of heart at times, especially when things do not go the Aggies' way from the start. This team is learning how to win in new ways. It is learning how to win ugly, especially at times when Texas A&M does not have its best offering to work with. South Carolina hit the skids weeks ago, but Texas A&M grew up a lot with this major victory.
At this juncture, we can only hope Texas A&M can use this momentum to win Lone Star over Texas.