PanzerAggie06 said:

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PeekingDuck said:

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No conference championship, loss to rival, no playoff win. The win count is good and trending in the right direction but at some point you have to win something that matters.

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This.

Until Elko raises the NC championship above his head all of the blabbering we see here is just that… blabbering about all the great things we'll do "next year". Which is the one aspect of college football in which Aggies rule supreme. Want to shut up the naysayers? Go win the biggest of the big boy trophies. Until then keep up with the blabbering. What else is there for us to do I suppose.

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So your standard is national championship or it's a complete and total failure?

If Indiana loses next week do you honestly think Cignetti is a failure?

PeekingDuck said:

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Because you're looking at a goofy in/out metric when all of those guys weren't necessarily going to start or garner much playing time. In absolute strength of class, LSU and Texas are #1 and #2. All the wishful thinking in the world ain't gonna help us on the field. We're either all in or we're not. At this point it seems like we're content being an also ran. That's fine, but we seem to have this delusion that we're all in which is odd.

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nothing is good about attrition. Losing depth in a conference that's the toughest to play in and going to 9 games in it isn't the time to cut bait in exchange for better talent. If you can get the talent and keep the roster that's why you do. That's what we did. #1 CB, #2 WR, top 25 OTs, top 10 safety, top ranked edges in the portal, I'm not sure what you think that is, but it seems pretty good to me. And we lost half what the others did.

beerad12man said:

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• In the last five years, there have probably been at least 75 second year coaches. 15-30 each new year.

• Our coach just had what is probably tied for the 2nd or at worst 3rd best season of any of them only to Indiana this year.
• We just recruited our 2nd straight top 10 class in 2026 and currently have most predicting a top 3/4 haul in 2027, with some number 1 projections. Yes, it's still a LONG ways off.
• We just wrapped up a top 10 portal haul, with one service saying top 3 currently.
• We lost 3 guys via the portal expected to be in our 2 deep, and all arguably were upgraded. Kennedy vs Henderson debatable.
• We just grabbed 8 guys expected to start for P4 programs along the lines of scrimmage next season. 16 total starters, 12 of which from the P4. Every single one of which their respective school was trying to keep.
• We just went 11-2 in year two. We lost to our rival, and our offense was bad to end the season.

This isn't even sunshine pumping. These are just the facts of exactly where the program is right now. Some will accuse it of sunshine pumping because they can't stand actually having some good things going for us.

All this leads our fans to believe we are an also ran, who isn't really trying or spending money.

It's literally absurd.

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I think you have to be really careful labeling people on here "fans." Not everyone here is or ever was or ever will be. Respectfully.

aginresearch said:

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Blonde Coffee Beans said:

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vander54 said:

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Oh no. Year 1 of new staff

Lol

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Sounds like excuses. You're perfect

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I'll save you some work from my previous ask. On 8/19/2025 you posted this:

Quote:

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The following Aggie head coaches won 6 games or less in a season
Jackie Sherrill
R.C Slocum
Dennis Franchione
Mike Sherman
Jimbo Fisher

Sumlin escaped Aggie football history. I did not go any further than Sherrill, but the proof is in the pudding. This season's schedule is harder than last season's and we aren't catching anyone off guard with our QB situation anymore.

History tends to repeat itself which means, Elko will have a 6 win season (or less) while in Aggieland.

Im predicting its in 2025

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https://texags.com/forums/5/topics/3552744/replies/70666851

Looks like you are terrible at predicting. Your opinion is officially worthless.

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Oh look, another preseason prediction response

Why is that not relevant to you analytical abilities? Are you denying your own post?

ktownag08 said:

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So this means we win the natty next year right? That's how it works?

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yes

aginresearch said:

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Why is that not relevant to you analytical abilities? Are you denying your own post?

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Welcome to Aggie dad

PeekingDuck said:

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Well, they have arguably the top WR, LB, and RB (2, really) in the class. Horton is really the only player we have that is comparable and he isn't Coleman.

Maybe Formby gets better, but we're missing on big targets or we just seem to think what we have is good enough. It isn't.

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Ok coach Elko

The problem is that Elmo's teams fold at the end of the season.

The last two years were aided by cupcake schedules (not his fault) but when the rubber met the road, it all fell apart. A lot of this, I believe, was due to depth (losing Moss was enormous).

I'm okay filling up with B+ players in the portal who can provide real playing time to help stave off the inevitable holes that arise over the course of 12+ games. Either that, or there is some fundamental issue with the way Elko's team devolve over the course of a season.

levytrousersEOY said:

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The problem is that Elmo's teams fold at the end of the season.

The last two years were aided by cupcake schedules (not his fault) but when the rubber met the road, it all fell apart. A lot of this, I believe, was due to depth (losing Moss was enormous).

I'm okay filling up with B+ players in the portal who can provide real playing time to help stave off the inevitable holes that arise over the course of 12+ games. Either that, or there is some fundamental issue with the way Elko's team devolve over the course of a season.

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Elmo? Did you forget to turn off your sip personality when you were pretending to be an Aggie. Why do you even pretend to not be a total sip troll here? WE ALL KNOW YOU ARE.. no matter how many times you remake your user name.

beerad12man said:

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PeekingDuck said:

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How did they do against Texas?

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In years 1 and 2, correct, they lost to Sarks 4th and 5th year teams after he built his program up. It sucks, and it doesn't take away from how much losing hurts, bragging rights, or any of that, but perspective matters. It's not a very fair comparison nor is it a reason to downplay what Elko has done in the portal thus far.

What he did in the portal was actually pretty outstanding. They hit on a ridiculous amount of their top targets at positions. Whether you believe it or not doesn't really matter, but they got their #1 overall CB, 2 of their top 3-4 OTs, either #1 or #2 LB, #1 S, one of their top 2-3 DEs, their 2nd WR, and 3 of the top 5/6 DTs they sought after on their boards. Even TE, they really only targeted about 3 guys and landed 2 of them. getting that many guys that far up your big board is a huge win. Hard to argue otherwise. We'll see what their evals look like next fall, but that's pretty insane, actually.

In addition, in the last five years, I'd say we probably had the 2nd or 3rd best year two of any new program behind only Indiana and maybe one other if you dig deep enough. The portal was a HUGE reason for that. Elko was able to add about 8-9 NFL draft picks from the 2024/2025 portal classes. All but Scourton were here for this season. Elko should have some serious trust when it comes to portal evaluations and where he's taken the program thus far. Need to get that next gear and close out a win at Kyle over texas, no doubts. But stop comparing everything to them. We play them once a year.

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Spot on.

agchugger said:

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levytrousersEOY said:

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The problem is that Elmo's teams fold at the end of the season.

The last two years were aided by cupcake schedules (not his fault) but when the rubber met the road, it all fell apart. A lot of this, I believe, was due to depth (losing Moss was enormous).

I'm okay filling up with B+ players in the portal who can provide real playing time to help stave off the inevitable holes that arise over the course of 12+ games. Either that, or there is some fundamental issue with the way Elko's team devolve over the course of a season.

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Elmo? Did you forget to turn off your sip personality when you were pretending to be an Aggie. Why do you even pretend to not be a total sip troll here? WE ALL KNOW YOU ARE.. no matter how many times you remake your user name.

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lol sorry for the typo, my guy!

This narrative that it all fell apart is amusing. We lost two close games with an unplugged OC. There is no fundamental issue, as much as some here might want there to be.

levytrousersEOY said:

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The problem is that Elmo's teams fold at the end of the season.

The last two years were aided by cupcake schedules (not his fault) but when the rubber met the road, it all fell apart. A lot of this, I believe, was due to depth (losing Moss was enormous).

I'm okay filling up with B+ players in the portal who can provide real playing time to help stave off the inevitable holes that arise over the course of 12+ games. Either that, or there is some fundamental issue with the way Elko's team devolve over the course of a season.

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Elko's team went 3-1 in the final month of the regular season, 2-1 in the SEC, and secured a playoff spot.

levytrousersEOY said:

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carl spacklers hat said:

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mjhhawk said:

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levytrousersEOY said:

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vander54 said:

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Probably not much different than most top school outside maybe tu and a couple others.

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I don't understand this rationale at all.
It's a position of need and a day one starter… why wouldn't you break the bank to make it happen? What's the point of having all this $ if you're not going to use it?

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When you break the bank for one player it causes dissension in the locker room and a group of individuals who start to prioritize themselves and getting theirs over the team. See our 2022 recruiting class for an example of this. When you spend wisely on positions of need and the entire team works as a unit you get teams such as this year's Indiana.

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Someone gets it. This is likely why A&M didn't push all-in on Coleman, too, preferring someone like Horton who wasn't primarily focused on how much money he could make. People seem to forget you have an entire locker room you're responsible to.

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Just curious, but how do you know Horton wasnt focused solely on money? How do you know Coleman was (I doubt Tech got outbid)?
It seems many here think players who sign with Elko are doing it because they love the Ags and players who sign elsewhere are only chasing dollars.

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It's not that players who sign with Elko are doing it because they love the Ags, it's that Elko and staff evaluate players and take the the ones they feel fit the team first accountability culture elko has built here

You don't want to throw some bad apples with worms into a good bunch and let their worms infiltrate the good apples

Now if we were supposedly loaded, with the #1 quarterback in the world, the #1 preseason ranking, and had to have miracles to survive Kentucky, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, and then dropped to a meaningless bowl against a team that had to suit up cheerleaders and athletic trainers, then I would think we had a fundamental issue.

thegoodolag15 said:

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I don't think people realize that we haven't won 10 games two years in a row since 1994. Crossing that threshold in my opinion would be a clear step forward for the program. I want to win a National Championship as much as anyone but there are clear measurable steps that need to be crossed in order to get there.

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Absolutely.

And Elko has crossed a bunch of those steps already

levytrousersEOY said:

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The problem is that Elmo's teams fold at the end of the season.

The last two years were aided by cupcake schedules (not his fault) but when the rubber met the road, it all fell apart. A lot of this, I believe, was due to depth (losing Moss was enormous).

I'm okay filling up with B+ players in the portal who can provide real playing time to help stave off the inevitable holes that arise over the course of 12+ games. Either that, or there is some fundamental issue with the way Elko's team devolve over the course of a season.

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I don't believe the evidence actually supports your assertion.

In Mike Elko's 2 years at Duke he won 9 and 8 games. In the 3 year prior to his arrival they won 10 total. In 2022 he finished the season 5-1 so definitely not a sign of a drop off. In 2023 they went 3-4 in their last 7 games but at least 3 of those losses were against teams ranked significantly higher than Duke, so that still doesn't prove a late season fall off because they were never favored to win those games.

At A&M we all know Mike Elko started his first season 7-1 and it felt like we were riding high but we finished with losses to SCar, Auburn, and Texas during the regular season. South Carolina and Texas were both better teams than we were. Most people ignored the fact that South Carolina was favored to win that game. If anything, the fact that Elko had us at 7-1 should be viewed as a positive because that team was not talented enough to be a true contender for anything that mattered and we somehow kept finding ways to win which is mark of good coaching. Auburn is the only game where the talented level was roughly similar, and we lost in 4 OTs. The argument of us having a fall apart season does not work because we had serious roster issues with a first year coach but found ways to win games.

This season we just won 11 games when most were projecting us to win around 9 games. That is a positive not a negative. Sure the way we finished sucked, but it still doesn't support a folding at the end of the season argument because we surpassed expectations and made the playoffs for the first time EVER.

Elk0-2

the more coolest guy said:

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beerad12man said:

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• In the last five years, there have probably been at least 75 second year coaches. 15-30 each new year.

• Our coach just had what is probably tied for the 2nd or at worst 3rd best season of any of them only to Indiana this year.
• We just recruited our 2nd straight top 10 class in 2026 and currently have most predicting a top 3/4 haul in 2027, with some number 1 projections. Yes, it's still a LONG ways off.
• We just wrapped up a top 10 portal haul, with one service saying top 3 currently.
• We lost 3 guys via the portal expected to be in our 2 deep, and all arguably were upgraded. Kennedy vs Henderson debatable.
• We just grabbed 8 guys expected to start for P4 programs along the lines of scrimmage next season. 16 total starters, 12 of which from the P4. Every single one of which their respective school was trying to keep.
• We just went 11-2 in year two. We lost to our rival, and our offense was bad to end the season.

This isn't even sunshine pumping. These are just the facts of exactly where the program is right now. Some will accuse it of sunshine pumping because they can't stand actually having some good things going for us.

All this leads our fans to believe we are an also ran, who isn't really trying or spending money.

It's literally absurd.

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I think you have to be really careful labeling people on here "fans." Not everyone here is or ever was or ever will be. Respectfully.

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Thank you Brett "the Hitman" Heart. RIP.

Seriously though, I agree with the analysis. This was a great year in light of expectations and a great year period. Losing to a rival hurts but loosing to a team (Miami) with arguably more talent and that is further along in building the program who is hitting it's stride is no shame.

Brett Hart is still alive

Bill Superman said:

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King said:

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Interesting. 247 has us listed at 6 with the same data. Quite a large difference.

247 Transfer Team Rankings

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247 has figured out how to get sip to the top every time.

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Impossible! 5 years ago I was told "247 good" and "on3 bad!"

Bama and auburn at the bottom below oregon state etc. What is their game? Also looks like va tech jumping in to buy players.

Wonder what that cost?

Teslag said:

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Brett Hart is still alive

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Still alive. And perhaps still screwing himself?

Alpha Texan said:

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Bill Superman said:

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King said:

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Interesting. 247 has us listed at 6 with the same data. Quite a large difference.

247 Transfer Team Rankings

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247 has figured out how to get sip to the top every time.

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Impossible! 5 years ago I was told "247 good" and "on3 bad!"

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5 years ago was before the 247 staff, including Steve Wiltfong, fled to On3

Sip pissing me off. No telling how much they've spent in the portal.

Logos Stick said:

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Sip pissing me off. No telling how much they've spent in the portal.

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I wouldn't lose sleep over newsome. He was likely headed to Baylor or TCU and I doubt they spent much on him. We sorely needed tackles and let him walk.

Teslag said:

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Logos Stick said:

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Sip pissing me off. No telling how much they've spent in the portal.

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I wouldn't lose sleep over newsome. He was likely headed to Baylor or TCU and I doubt they spent much on him. We sorely needed tackles and let him walk.

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yea, he's not a guy playing in 2025 untess it's an emergency. As much as these guys portal they're paying slightly above bench rates. He probably felt he had a quicker path to PT there.

the more coolest guy said:

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This narrative that it all fell apart is amusing. We lost two close games with an unplugged OC. There is no fundamental issue, as much as some here might want there to be.

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Except that it has happened now 2 years in a row.

HoustonAg2106 said:

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Jimbo4win said:

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PeekingDuck said:

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The good news is that the proof will be on the field next year. One of us will be right.

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I want to take this up a notch..How much? There isn't an amount that I wouldn't be willing to bet you..so name it

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What are you betting exactly? That we win the national championship? Because I'll take that bet

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Is it that hard to read? Peking duck said Texas and LSU have the number one haul by any measure. I called BS. He said it will play out on the field. The bet is that Texas or LSU will not win it all. I am willing to bet any amount you and that clown Peking Duck has that Texas OR LSU will not win it all. Just name the amount and I will double it for both of you…It's time to put up or shut up.