Texas A&M left its opener with the kind of score that usually buries every concern. A 50-0 win over Missouri State looked dominant on the surface, and the defense made sure the Bears never came close to making it interesting. But Mike Elko still saw a team that needed a few series to settle in, especially along the offensive line.
Elko said the Aggies’ offense found its rhythm as the game went on, and he pointed directly to the line as a group that had to work through some early nerves.
“I thought we grew into the game on offense, especially on the offensive line,” Elko said. “There were a few guys out there who were really anxious at the beginning, and by the second, third and fourth series you could see them slowing down and playing the way that they did through fall camp.”
That stretch mattered because Texas A&M was able to absorb those early hiccups against Missouri State. The same kind of slow start will be a much bigger problem when the Aggies face Arizona State, a step up in competition where mistakes come with a sharper price.
Elko made it clear he liked plenty of what he saw, but not all of it.
“I thought there was a lot of good, but certainly some things to clean up,” Elko said. “It was a lot of things that we had not practiced with a lot of guys out there playing, and we certainly did not play to the standard we needed to early in the game.”
The encouraging part for Texas A&M is that the offense did reach that standard eventually. Once the line settled in, the whole unit followed, and the game took on the kind of shape people expected before kickoff.
Tyree Adams stood out to Elko in particular. The head coach said the offensive lineman delivered a strong all-around performance in the opener.
“I thought he graded out really well,” Elko said. “Both in the passing and the run game, he played really physical.”
Now the challenge gets tougher. Arizona State will give Texas A&M its first real test of how much of the opener can carry over against a Power Four opponent, and Elko knows the line has to speed up its growth.
“There are big challenges coming up, and that group is going to have to continue working hard to get better every time they go out there,” Elko said.
Texas A&M had room to grow into the Missouri State game. The next one may not offer nearly that much patience.
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