Texas A&M’s penalty issues during the Week 5 16-10 win over the Auburn Tigers inside a sold-out Kyle Field essentially killed every drive outside of the opening game touchdown, despite the Aggies racking up 414 yards on offense. However, while 13 penalties for 119 yards were eye-popping, Auburn’s 10 penalties were equally ugly, making Saturday’s victory one of the sloppiest during coach Mike Elko’s tenure.
These issues, especially holding calls and personal fouls, which made up more than half of the flags, are easily avoidable with better focus and discipline, which Elko discussed at length this week before the Aggies host Mississippi State on Saturday night. While the Aggies are 14-to-15-point home favorites, the Bulldogs aren’t 4-1 by accident, and are talented enough to score 20-plus points and capitalize on mistakes.
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If Texas A&M continues to struggle with penalties, this will likely be a close game going into the fourth quarter, similar to what he witnessed against Auburn. On Wednesday, during the weekly SEC Teleconference, Mike Elko provided one of the more comical and notably sarcastic responses to SEC officiating ahead of Saturday’s game.
“I think the officials do an unbelievable job. They’re the best thing we have in the SEC. It’s a consistent performance week in and week out. I’m just blessed to have them on the football field.”
This is the best response in a situation where there is no resolution in predicting how every officiating crew will call games. After Auburn’s road loss to Oklahoma, an excessive reaction from Saturday’s crew is unlikely to occur two consecutive weekends in the same venue, but no one truly knows.
For the Aggies, avoiding the avoidable penalties, such as offsides, holding (both offense and defense), and personal fouls, should result in a much cleaner game.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M HC Mike Elko provides comical response to SEC officiating
