Elko urges focus as No 8 Texas A&M opens as a 40.5-point favorite vs Missouri State

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) — After a long and intense camp, Texas A&M coach Mike Elko can’t wait to see how his eighth-ranked team matches up against Missouri State in its opener Saturday.

“We want to go out there and see where we are... then figure out where the adjustments need to come and what we need to do to become the best team we’re capable of being,” Elko said.

Most don’t expect it to be much of a contest with the Aggies entering the game as 40 1/2-point favorites over the Bears, who won seven games last season in their first year at the FBS level.

Despite this, Elko is focused on the Aggies playing up to their potential regardless of who is lining up against them. He said it’s a first chance for his players to prove that they’ve listened to his offseason message of playing with focus and urgency.

“We have a chance to be really good if we have the ability to go out and focus and play with the level of urgency that we need to,” Elko said. “I think we have a very high ceiling but we’ve got to go out and do it.”

He praised Missouri State’s hiring of coach Casey Woods, who is in his first season at the school after spending last year as SMU’s offensive coordinator,

The Aggies lost 10 starters to the NFL draft but return plenty of veterans, led by quarterback Marcel Reed , who enters his third season as starter.

Reed threw for 3,169 yards and 25 touchdowns while adding six rushing scores last season to help the Aggies to an 11-2 record and their first College Football Playoff appearance last season. Elko believes he can do even more this season.

“He works really hard, he’s gotten better, he’s got a better command of the offense,” Elko said. “But he’s got to go out and we’ve got to play. The reality of this thing is that we’ve done what we’ve had to do to get to this point, now it’s time to go play.”

Woods knows how dangerous Reed can be.

“I don’t know that you can stop Marcel Reed,” Woods said. “He’s got strengths. I think that you have to attack his strengths and make sure you contain those things and put him in a position where he’s less comfortable playing, and I don’t know if there’s a lot of that.”

While the Aggies have Reed back to lead the offense, he’ll play behind an almost entirely new line. The only returnee is center Mark Nabou Jr., who will have to help the newcomers mesh quickly.

Elko recruited several veteran transfers and he said the group has looked good in camp. He wasn’t ready to say who would start ahead of the opener but noted that depth at the position should benefit the team.

“The more guys that you have involved, the more guys that you believe can help you win, the better that is for everything,” Elko said. “It’s better for morale. It’s better for lasting 12 games. It’s better for development.”

On the eve of Saturday’s game, the Aggies will honor former coach R.C. Slocum by unveiling his statue outside of Kyle Field. The statue was created by Steven Whyte, who also created a statue of Heisman Trophy winner John David Crow that is outside the stadium.

Slocum, the winningest coach in Texas A&M football history, spent 14 years as the Aggies’ coach, going 123-47-2 from 1989-2002.

The 81-year-old Slocum won six Southwest Conference titles and two Big 12 South titles during his tenure.

“He really epitomizes what being an elite coach here at Texas A&M is all about,” Elko said. “That’s a really cool moment.”

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