COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) 鈥� No. 3 Texas A&M is on the verge of reaching heights the Aggies often tease but usually squander. They are undefeated. They could reach the Southeastern Conference title game and the College Football Playoff for the first time.
Quarterback Marcel Reed and the school has rewarded coach Mike Elko with a blockbuster contract extension. Aggies faithful are hopeful that their program has finally taken a great leap forward.
鈥淚t feels amazing,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淚t feels like I鈥檓 giving back to a lot of these fans for what they haven鈥檛 had.鈥�
Perhaps the most impressive thing about this rise of the Aggies is that they鈥檝e done it so soon after the firing of Jimbo Fisher when he came up woefully short in his promise to deliver their first national championship since 1939.
Elko, who took over at Texas A&M (11-0, 7-0 SEC, No. 3 CFP) after going 16-9 in two years at Duke in what was his first head coaching job, was hired two years ago this Thursday. On the day he was introduced in an event that was more pep rally than news conference, he told hundreds of hyped-up fans that the years and years of talking about winning a national title were over.
鈥淲e are not going to talk about it anymore,鈥� he said then. 鈥淲e are gonna be about it.鈥�
So how did he get the Aggies to 鈥渂e about it鈥� in such a short time?
鈥淎 lot of coaches come in and they say a lot of things. That doesn鈥檛 mean that people follow,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o, I鈥檝e given a lot of the credit to the players in the locker room because they鈥檙e the ones that believed in this. They believed in this vision. They believed in what we were preaching. They believed in the culture. Before they ever had results, they just did the things we asked them to do to build this thing. And now to be where we are, I think it鈥檚 a reward for everything that they put into this thing long ago.鈥�
Texas A&M has come close to reaching the next level many times in the past only to fall short, including last season when it opened the season 7-1 only to drop three of the next four games to fall out of playoff contention.
It鈥檚 happened so often that the team鈥檚 fans have half-jokingly coined the term 鈥淏attered Aggies Syndrome.鈥� To long-suffering Aggie fans, it means that they鈥檝e been let down so many times that they can鈥檛 even enjoy Texas A&M鈥檚 success anymore.
It鈥檚 a notion that Elko and his team have no time for. They鈥檙e focused only on now, a thought evidenced by the letters G-R-I-N-D that take up an entire wall in a team meeting room on campus. It鈥檚 an acronym that stands for Grit, Relentless effort, Integrity, Now and Dependability.
鈥淣ow 鈥� he talks about that all the time,鈥� Reed said of Elko. 鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the bigger words we talked about in the offseason and going in this season. So, we focus on the now. I wasn鈥檛 here years back when A&M wasn鈥檛 necessarily winning all the time. But I鈥檓 here now and I鈥檓 doing my best to make these fans happy and keep wins on the board.鈥�
And the quarterback has a message for those still suffering from 鈥淏attered Aggies Syndrome.鈥�
鈥淚f you want to think about the past and go back to 鈥楤attered Aggies Syndrome,鈥� that鈥檚 not my fault. That鈥檚 yours,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can have your own opinions, but 鈥� if you focus on the past, you鈥檙e not going to get anywhere in life. You got to have hope. You got to have faith. You believe in God, you have to have hope and faith. So, believe in the Aggies for once.鈥�
The Aggies have won 10 games for the first time since Johnny Manziel helped them to an 11-2 mark in his Heisman-winning season in 2012. It鈥檚 the first time they鈥檝e opened a season 11-0 since coach R.C. Slocum, powered by his famed Wrecking Crew defense, went 12-0 in 1992. That season they beat archrival Texas 34-13 in Austin on Thanksgiving to cap their perfect regular season.
This year they鈥檒l have to vanquish the 16th-ranked Longhorns (No. 17 CFP) in Austin on Friday to remain perfect after falling to them at home last season in their first meeting since 2011. A win will punch their ticket to the SEC title game on Dec. 6 in Atlanta. They could still get in if they lose but would need losses by both Alabama and Mississippi.
鈥淚 think the beauty of the next one for us is it kind of hammers itself home,鈥� Elko said. 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 the nice thing about having that rivalry at the end of the season. I鈥檓 not sure that there鈥檚 anything for Texas A&M football to look (at) other than that game Friday night. We know what that game means. We know what it鈥檚 all about. We know we didn鈥檛 get it done last year. We know how important it is for us to go out there and play our best football Friday night.鈥�
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