Elko stresses importance of concentration as A&M finds early success

HOUSTON — The most inevitable of inevitable subjects was … well, inevitable.

In a Houston Touchdown Club luncheon on Wednesday, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko was reminded one of the biggest games of the college football remains on the Aggies’ schedule.

Elko feigned confusion.

“I knew the Mississippi State game was a big game,” he quipped. “You're suggesting Mississippi State is one of the biggest games in all of college football?”

The response drew a roar from the estimated crowd of 250 Aggies.

When you’re 5-1 and in an open week after a 41-10 dismantling of then-No. 9 Missouri, punchlines are funnier, laughter is louder and hearts are lighter.

But Elko wasn’t really joking.

He knows the No. 15 team in the nation must put its full attention on the next opponent — Mississippi State — even with a grudge match against top-ranked Texas looming at the end of November.

“I think, in season, it's really important that you focus on what's in front of you,” Elko said. “I think you have to focus on the things that are in front of you to make sure that that game means what we all want it to mean.”

The importance of beating the arch-rival Longhorns isn’t lost on Elko. He said so. But the importance of beating Mississippi State, LSU,  South Carolina, etc., isn’t lost either.

Win those games and the Aggies could play Texas with a chance to win a championship at stake.

“It would be unfair to the process of what we're trying to do to take the kids away from the next opportunity,” Elko said. “Right now, we've got ourselves in a really good spot. We want to make sure we stay there.”

Staying power hasn’t often been an A&M asset.

The Aggies have won big games before — upsetting No. 1 Alabama in 2021 comes to mind.

But they’ve frequently faltered later, as they did in ’21 with closing losses to Ole Miss and LSU.

Elko cautioned the crowd — just as he has cautioned players — that without the right frame of mind, a big win can be followed by bigger disappointment.

Alabama is a prime example. Two weeks ago, the Crimson Tide was ranked No. 1 in the nation after defeating Georgia. A loss to Vanderbilt followed.

Elko is working hard to ensure the Aggies avoid a similar misstep.

“I told the guys two things happen when you have success,” he said. “One is you fall in love with the result and all of the pub(licity) that comes with the results. You lose focus on all the things that you did to achieve the result.

“Or you can fall in love with success. If you fall in love with success, you fall in love with what you did Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday to help get the success. You come out next week and you do it even harder, because that will help you ensure more success.”

Andrew Kilzer, TexAgs

Texas A&M and Texas have not met since 2011. Currently, the Aggies (3-0) and Longhorns (1-0) occupy first and second place, respectively, in the SEC standings.

Elko’s message is to stay focused. Concentrate only on what’s directly ahead. Keep your nose to the grindstone. Aim for growth every day.

“If you stay focused like that, if you work like that, when you lift your head up at the end of the year, I promise you you’re gonna be in a really, really good place,” he said.

A really good place? Like in Atlanta for the SEC Championship? Maybe even at Kyle Field for a playoff home game?

Elko suggested that’s all possible if the Aggies don’t relax. With the right mindset, the Aggies can not only pursue excellence but run it down.

He warned success can lead to complacency.

“Whenever given the opportunity, the human nature response is to want to relax, right?” Elko said. “‘I did enough in my lifting session yesterday, so tomorrow I'm going to relax. I ran a mile today, so tomorrow, I'm going to relax. I won a game Saturday against Missouri, so now I can finally relax, right?’ That's just human nature.

“In order to be great at anything, you’ve got to make a conscious mental decision every single day to fight that and be better than that. The teams that can do that consistently over time are the teams that consistently show up every year at the end in the playoffs, in the big roles, in the big opportunities.”

Hopefully, those big opportunities will prove as inevitable as questions about big games that loom ahead.