Mike Elko had a sharp, funny read on the SEC’s LSU mess, and he didn’t need many words to make the point.
During his weekly appearance on The Aggie Football Hour, the Texas A&M coach was asked by a fan about the controversy surrounding LSU, Lane Kiffin’s program, and the conference. Elko answered with a comparison that landed cleanly.
“This is a little bit like the son figuring out where the limits are until Dad comes home and raises his voice, and then the son goes, ‘I was just kidding; I didn’t mean any of that.,’" Elko said during this week's edition of The Aggie Football Hour. "I think that’s what you’re seeing.
LSU will be in the SEC. LSU will be fired up when we go to Baton Rouge in a couple of weeks.
All of those things are going to happen. This is just a little bit of parenting going on right now.”
The comment came as LSU has been at the center of a major dispute with the SEC over its attempt to add two former NFL players, Dae'Quan Weight and Zxavian Harris, to its roster. Both players received injunctions from the state of Louisiana to play, and both spent last season with the Ole Miss Rebels under Kiffin.
That connection added another layer to the scrutiny, while Kiffin, Louisiana lawyers, and other decision-makers kept pressing the issue and testing the SEC’s patience. The league eventually responded by filing a federal suit against the school and Kiffin, and it called a meeting to discuss the possibility of expelling LSU from the conference.
LSU ultimately backed off and chose not to add the players to its roster, but the SEC is still not finished with the matter.
For Texas A&M, the timing matters. The Aggies are set to play LSU later this month in Baton Rouge, and by then the potential punishments could already be in place. The conference’s expulsion talk appears to have cooled, but sanctions from the league are still possible.
That leaves the door open for a very different kind of atmosphere when the Aggies visit Tiger Stadium on September 26. Until then, Texas A&M has Arizona State coming to Kyle Field this Saturday.
In Other News...
South Carolina May Have Found A Backfield Weapon Fans Werent Expecting
South Carolinas backfield got an unexpected spark in its Week 1 win over Kent State, and it came from a player who had yet to take an offensive snap in a Gamecocks uniform. Jabree Coleman, the Penn State transfer who redshirted last season, made his collegiate offensive debut look easy, piling up 77 yards on just four carries while finding the end zone twice in a game where the ground attack set the tone.
Coleman said the moment was everything he had hoped for, and he was quick to point to the offensive line for making the night possible. It also fit neatly into a dominant team performance on the ground, with South Carolinas running backs combining for 278 rushing yards and four touchdowns, a reminder that the Gamecocks may already have more depth in the backfield than many expected. [Read more 🡒]
Gamecocks Pass Rush Finally Gets A Very Different Week 2 Test
Kent States passing game last week offered a very different kind of challenge for a pass rush, with Dru DeShields getting the ball out in 2.4 seconds on 23 dropbacks. The Golden Flashes kept things compact, leaning on short passes with an average depth of target of 2.5 yards and only four throws that traveled more than nine yards downfield, the sort of script that can take a defenses sacks out of the equation.
Towson should ask more questions of South Carolina in Week 2, though, because Andrew Indorf has been willing to push the ball deeper and his profile comes with a much higher average depth of target. For a Gamecocks front trying to build on its early work, that creates a different kind of test: less about beating a rapid-fire release and more about staying disciplined when the ball starts traveling farther downfield. [Read more 🡒]
South Carolina Faces An Early Depth Test In First Night Game
South Carolina gets its first night game of the season Saturday at Williams-Brice Stadium, and the matchup with Towson arrives with the Gamecocks carrying real momentum from a 57-0 rout of Kent State. They are favored again against a Towson team that is 0-2, but the bigger early-season question for Shane Beamers group is less about the opponent and more about how the roster holds up under another game.
The injury picture adds some intrigue to what should be a comfortable home date. Dylan Stewart and Jacarrius Peak are both doubtful to play, which puts a little more pressure on the depth chart as South Carolina looks to keep its start on track under the lights. Fans who want to follow along will need the streaming option, since the game is set for SEC Network Plus. [Read more 🡒]