Video: Texas A&M's Mike Elko Says Focus Is on Texas in Response to Auburn Question
Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko slipped up while trying to say his team's focus is on Saturday's game against Auburn rather than the following weekend's rivalry matchup with Texas.
"I don't think it's an issue," Elko said Tuesday about his team's focus. "I think, when you're in the situation that we're in, it's easy to focus on the task at hand. I think those big games, earlier in the year, maybe you look ahead. If we didn't have at stake what's at stake, maybe you would worry about it. I think our focus is single-handedly on Texas."
Elko then corrected himself: "I mean, on Auburn, right now."
Texas A&M kicks off a Saturday night road game at unranked Auburn at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Aggies are one of five two-loss teams in the SEC and could boost their championship game odds with a win.
Texas A&M (6-2 overall, 5-1 SEC) currently stands alongside Texas as the only two SEC teams with a single conference loss.
Should the Aggies lose on Sunday to an SEC opponent in Auburn (4-6 overall, 1-5 SEC) the championship game spot could come down to tiebreakers with the other two-loss teams.
Auburn will enter the game as the clear underdog, having claimed just one in-conference win at Kentucky and losing three prior games to ranked opponents in Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri.
The Tigers are coming off a 48-14 blowout victory over Louisiana-Monroe last weekend during which starting quarterback Payton Thorne threw for five touchdowns and no interceptions. The team now has bowl eligibility to play for over their final two games against Texas A&M and at Alabama.
Should Thorne, who has struggled with picks this season, have another strong passing game, Auburn has a shot at upsetting Texas A&M in part because of the team's defense. The Tigers have been holding opponents to an average of 312 total yards per game, good for 12th in the FBS.
Whatever Saturday's result, No. 15 Texas A&M's season could still come down to next weekend's clash with No. 3 Texas (9-1 overall, 5-1 SEC.) But with other teams like Georgia poised to win out on tiebreakers should the Aggies drop in SEC play, Texas A&M will hope to win against the Tigers before taking on their in-state rivals at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
