Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko celebrates after the sport in opposition to Notre Dame Combating Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Obligatory Credit score: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Pictures The primary third of the season was very profitable for Texas A&M.
The No. 6 Aggies are 4-0 for the primary time since 2016, they usually have matched their highest rating within the AP ballot over the previous 4 seasons.
The subsequent take a look at comes Saturday evening in opposition to Mississippi State in Faculty Station, Texas.
“What I’d say about our gamers is it has been a tough go for the youngsters which were on this program for 4 years,” second-year Aggies coach Mike Elko mentioned. “They’re studying that they’ve the flexibility to manage the outcomes of video games, and that is a robust mindset.”
The Aggies beat then-No. 8 Notre Dame 41-40 on the highway two weeks in the past and gained their Southeastern Convention opener in opposition to Auburn 16-10 at residence final Saturday.
Texas A&M held the Tigers to 177 complete yards and did not permit a conversion on 13 third downs or two fourth downs.
However there stays room for enchancment.
Texas A&M was penalized 13 instances for 119 yards in opposition to Auburn, every week after being penalized 13 instances for 86 yards.
“It is one thing that we’ve got to get fastened and addressed,” Elko mentioned of the infractions. “We can’t proceed to win video games if we do not resolve that downside.”
The Aggies confirmed extra self-discipline of their first two video games of the season, committing seven penalties in a gap win in opposition to UTSA and solely 5 the next week in opposition to Utah State.
Though Texas A&M may by no means set up a snug lead in opposition to Auburn, senior operating again Le’Veon Moss helped the Aggies keep in management by speeding for 139 yards and scoring the crew’s solely landing.
Mississippi State (4-1, 0-1 SEC) is coming off its first lack of the season, 41-34 in time beyond regulation in opposition to visiting Tennessee final Saturday. The Bulldogs are nonetheless searching for their first convention win underneath second-year coach Jeff Lebby.
Even so, Lebby mentioned the crew confirmed “a ton of progress” within the loss to the then-No. 15 Volunteers, the Bulldogs’ closest SEC defeat in his tenure.
“The factor that I used to be most pleased with was, undoubtedly, how issues had gone from play one to play 87,” Lebby mentioned. “Our guys continued to play and believed that we have been profitable the soccer sport all the time. There was nice vitality.”
Fluff Bothwell had his second consecutive 100-yard speeding sport, ending with 134 yards and his fifth and sixth speeding touchdowns of the season.
The Bulldogs are set to play their first sport exterior of Mississippi. They started the season with a highway victory in opposition to Southern Miss earlier than enjoying 4 consecutive residence video games.
Lebby mentioned the timing of the go to to Faculty Station is “fairly good” as a result of Mississippi State has an open date subsequent week earlier than visiting Florida every week later.
“I feel the best factor about happening the highway on this convention is we have got 74 guys getting on the aircraft to go play in entrance of over 100,000 individuals,” Lebby mentioned. “It is about us being all in and having the correct mindset and mentality to go play one play at a time and provides us the very best probability to go win.”
–Area Stage Media
