Texas A&M Aggies’ Mike Elko prepares for ‘hostile environment’ at Mississippi State

As the Texas A&M Aggies know well by now, there is rarely an easy win in the SEC.

For example, Saturday afternoon’s game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, who are at the bottom of the SEC with a record of 1-5 (0-3 in conference play), looks like an easy win on paper. However, a trip to Starkville with loud cowbells is always a challenge. The Aggies are the much better team, and getting through a bye week is a nice advantage, but taking the opponent and the environment lightly would be foolish.

Although Aggies head coach Mike Elko won’t let his team sit through the cowbells before the game, he will make sure they are prepared for what lies ahead.

“I swore I would never do that to our guys,” Elko told reporters Monday. “We play the music very loudly and create the noise of the audience. You know, I don’t know if there’s anything special about the cowbells. What makes playing in this place difficult is that they’re always very talented, they take that.” They take a lot of pride in playing at home, their fans, like everyone in the SEC, are very passionate on a Saturday afternoon and they take great pride in protecting their home.

“You know, we talk about what makes this league different, what makes this league different is challenges like this. It’s going to be a loud, hostile environment, they’re going to be full of energy, it’s going to be really challenging. “It’s really difficult to play on Saturday. That just doesn’t happen in every single league from top to bottom, like it does in the SEC.”

Since joining the SEC, the Aggies have a 2-4 record in Starkville. Their wins came in 2012 and 2020, their best seasons in the SEC when they finished in the top five in the AP.

Kickoff at Davis Wade Stadium is set for 3:15 p.m. CT as the No. 14 Aggies are expected to remain undefeated in conference play.