Josh Pate dives into Texas A&M's undefeated start as Week 6 nears

Key notes from Josh Pate interview

• No one wins a low-scoring game without complaints. Mike Elko has to point out the gloominess in the post-game press conference. I can not watch that game or that score without thinking about the Notre Dame game. It's not October yet, and I have watched them win a shootout, and I watched them drag someone into quicksand. They won both games. They looked kind of comfortable or at ease. That is something to tuck away. Rarely do I see teams go to the playoffs, and you look back at their track record, and they won all their games the same way. The good teams can mold their style into whichever fight is presented to them. That is much harder to do. That may go back to what we were talking about at SEC Media Days: How malleable, moldable, flexible, and how many different tools do you have in the bag? That is what matters.
   
• I would ask, “What are you trying to accomplish?” A&M has not put a full complementary game together. My guess is their goal is to win the SEC, go to the playoff and win the national championship. Those are things that happen in December and January. So it is September 30 today. If you are trying to accomplish that goal, is it a steady upward trajectory or the hottest team in September?
   
• I think about our national champion last year. Ohio State looked much different in September than in December. I am sure they would have loved slaughtering everyone in September and October, but what is more preferable? If you asked them, would they want to change anything? They might have said the Michigan game, but broad strokes, they wouldn’t change anything. It set them up to peak at the right time.
   
• When you talk to Elko in the spring, they don’t have a plan that they lay out to peak in September. They have a plan of nutrition, reps, GPS monitoring, strength and conditioning and workload. All of that stuff is tailored with a 16-17 game season in mind. I understand that in the moment you want to click on all cylinders. 10 out of 10 in every category. That is not realistic, because the other team is allowed to try as well. I don’t know if people fully appreciate that Auburn was a desperate, against-the-wall, wounded-animal Auburn team. History tells you that A&M loses that kind of game because history says that those desperate teams find a way to win. You see, Auburn is not a team scoring 20 or more, so the only path for Auburn is for you to give them the ball. Every time someone complains about that stuff, I am OK listening to it, but what is your goal? The goal is to win, and they won.
   
• The Year 1 to Year 2 benefit was on display Saturday. I don’t care if you copied what Oklahoma did for all I care. Success left clues all over the place from what Oklahoma did. I would go right back to what I just said, you play to win the game.
   
• It was obvious early that A&M’s defense is here to play. Matchup-wise, they are not throwing a whole lot at them, which was confusing. From a predictive standpoint, Jackson Arnold was not beating you by throwing the ball. Looking at it glass half empty, from a coach's point of view, what could a better quarterback have done? Was there a bunch of points to be had that were left on the field because they didn’t execute? You will face better teams, better offensive lines and maybe not better receivers. Maybe a quarterback more capable of getting them the ball. I would advise you to look around the country how much “should be” and is not. Appreciate the things that are happening when they should.
   
• This schedule sets up how important it was that you did what you did against Notre Dame. It wasn’t a conference game, but when you win those games... You won the game. It is important. Now, think about the wiggle room it gives you down the road. All of a sudden, it frees you up.
   
• I look at the schedule, and I don’t see any game that A&M can’t compete in. Maybe Texas by the time they play them. Missouri seems to play everyone at the right time. What if you lose two of them? The national champion did that last year. Had they lost early in the season, it could have buried them. What if A&M loses to Florida? Then you are a one-loss team. Then you lose to Texas, 30-27 on a walk-off field goal. But you end at 10-2. That is exactly what happened to Ohio State. At that point, you see how big that Notre Dame win was.
   
• Notre Dame may be sitting there saying how big that loss to A&M was. I do think Notre Dame gets in at 10-2, though. Florida, I thought, was one of the best teams in the country going into the season. They haven’t been. Mississippi State may be better than them. Arkansas is a dead program. LSU, I have my questions. Missouri, you want to play them later in the season. As long as you have one loss or fewer going into Austin, I think you are OK either way.
   
• I think Ole Miss is a playoff team right now. The worst thing that happened to them was having a soft start to their season last year, with high expectations. Many people, me included, had playoff expectations for them. They kept looking ahead, and then Kentucky came in. Then they lost the game, and they were like, “Oh, that counts.” I thought there was a gear they didn’t hit last year. This year, it looks like they are playing with the awareness of that. It looks like they understand. It helps in a twisted way that their quarterback got hurt, because all hands are on deck. Every hair on your neck is standing up, and nothing is sneaking up on you.
   
• I looked at that LSU game, and I was surprised it was that close. Ole Miss thoroughly outplayed LSU. I am worried more about Georgia in a few weeks when they play Ole Miss. I would be surprised if they did not make the playoffs.