Elko views Saturday's matchup with Samford as an opportunity

There are various ways to view No. 3 Texas A&M’s non-conference football game against Samford on Saturday.

An easy win.
A stat-padder.
A glorified practice.
A Senior Day celebration to honor those perhaps playing their final game at Kyle Field.

Aggies coach Mike Elko mainly views the 11 a.m. game as an opportunity.

“We talk a lot about playing to our standard regardless of opponent,” Elko said earlier this week. “So this is an opportunity for us to take a maturity step and go out there and play the game at the level that we’re capable of playing it, regardless of who we are playing.”

It matters not to Elko that A&M (10-0) is undefeated, while Samford (1-10) has lost badly to opponents like Chattanooga and The Citadel.

Elko wants the Aggies to play at a high level they’ll need to reach vs. Texas next week, perhaps the SEC Championship game after that and then on into the College Football Playoff.

“That’s going to matter a lot for me in terms of how we approach this one,” he said.

The Aggies need to approach the game with intensity from the outset. In another early kickoff last week, they appeared to sleepwalk through an error-plagued first half to fall behind South Carolina, 30-3.

Of course, they unleashed a historic rally in the second half to prevail, 31-30.

“We understand how important it is to come out of that locker room every single Saturday with the right frame of mind to compete and play,” Elko said. “This is the last game we’re guaranteed to play in Kyle Field, so let’s go out and do it the right way, and let’s make sure it reflects who we are as a program and all the work that we put into this thing to be successful.”

Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Marcel Reed currently ranks 15th in total offense nationally with 3,039 yards. 

A&M could conceivably host a playoff game at Kyle Field, but that would require losing a game or two.

The Aggies obviously don’t want that.

Instead, they’d rather see quarterback Marcel Reed enhance his growing Heisman Trophy candidacy.

They’d rather see Cashius Howell make a run at taking the national lead in sacks. He’s currently second in the country with 11.5. They’d rather see KC Concepcion, who is fourth in the nation in punt returns, bring back one for his third touchdown.

But Elko wants to see the Aggies see this game for what is really is.

“It’s a great opportunity to keep this thing going,” he said.