Contrasting Starts: Texas A&M’s Slow Beginnings vs. Texas’ Explosive Openers

As Texas A&M prepares to face Texas in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season, the Aggies’ slow starts in recent SEC games are a glaring concern for head coach Mike Elko. In their last three conference contests, A&M has struggled to establish early momentum, and it’s no coincidence they are 1-2 in those games. On the other hand, Texas has made a habit of starting relatively fast, building halftime leads and choking teams out with elite defense.

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A&M’s Struggles Out of the Gate

The Aggies’ last three SEC outings are characterized by slow starts:

• Against LSU: At home, A&M fell behind 10-0 early and entered halftime down 17-7. The deficit wasn’t insurmountable, as their second-half rally proved, with Marcel Reed stepping in for Connor Weigman to spark the offense. A&M was aided by LSU being shocked to realize Reed was an eligible runner. The Ags throttled LSU in the second half but there were some nervous moments in Kyle Field early on.
• At South Carolina: On the road, A&M quickly found themselves down 14-0. While they managed to tie the game at 20-20 by halftime, the Gamecocks dominated the second half, cruising to a 44-20 victory. This time it was A&M that got throttled in the second half. Did they expend to much mental and physical energy clawing their way back into the game?
• At Auburn: Last Saturday, A&M’s slow start was glaring, as Auburn jumped out to a 21-0 lead. The Aggies roared back, even taking a 31-28 lead late in the game, but ultimately fell in overtime.

Elko: “Starting Fast Is Critical”

Mike Elko addressed the issue this week, acknowledging the need to fix the recurring problem but highlighting the complexity of doing so.

“Need to, need to figure it out,” Elko said. “Each one kind of played itself out in a different way. LSU was one set of problems that you felt like you tried to fix and clean up, and then you go into South Carolina, and they get after you with a whole other set of problems that you then try to fix and clean up, and then the Auburn game is a completely different one.”

The Aggies have struggled with consistency in their early-game execution. Elko acknowledged they can’t afford to do so against Texas.

“Starting fast is critical, starting fast on the road is even more critical, starting fast in games like this is paramount,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s as easy as saying there’s one thing we have to do. We try to be aggressive in how we script things, we try to be different in how we script things, we gotta try to figure out a way. There have been times earlier in the year when we did. We started well against Florida, we started well against Missouri, we gotta figure out a way.”

Texas: A Contrast in Fast Starts

While A&M has struggled to find its footing early, Texas has thrived at setting the tone in its recent games. The Longhorns have been dominant in first halves against Florida, Arkansas, and Kentucky, with halftime leads of 35-0, 10-0, and 24-7, respectively.

The Longhorns’ success stems from a balanced approach, with an offense that puts points on the board early and a defense that suffocates opposing attacks. The defense has been especially stingy in the first half, consistently keeping opponents out of rhythm and off the scoreboard.

This week, the Texas defense will need to maintain that level of play. Points may be tough to come by in a raucous Kyle Field. Even if UT doesn’t get off to a fast offensive start, the defensive should be able to clamp down on the A&M offense early.

The Stakes

Couldn’t be higher. This game hasn’t been played since 2011. Now it returns with the winner going on to face Georgia in the SEC Championship Game. The Aggies likely need to win the conference to make the playoffs.

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Texas is already in the playoffs, that shouldn’t need to be spelled out to fans, but a win puts them in much better position to either get a bye or host a playoff game.