Saturday Morning started almost perfectly for the Texas A&M Aggies as the program announced it signed Mike Elko to a contract extension. As programs around the country look for a head coach, it doesn't hurt if you're Texas A&M to make sure your coach is locked up, but it alos has the chance to age very poorly.
As Texas A&M hosted a South Carolina team that's been a mess all season long with a 3-6 record and just a 1-6 record in SEC play. The Gamecocks have been so bad that Shane Beamer has already fired his offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.
Mike Elko's new deal was announced at the worst time
On the day that you announce you signed your coach for the foreseeable future, you'd hope that he blows out an SEC opponent that has been a mess. Instead, the South Carolina Gamecocks went to the locker room with a 30-3 lead that could derail the Aggies goals this season.
If Texas A&M loses and Georgia wins today, the Bulldogs clinch a place in the SEC Championship Game. The other SEC Championship bid would be sitting there for Alabama, which is unbeaten in league play heading into its game against Oklahoma. Losing this game will also knock South Carolina out of earning a first-round bye in the Playoff, and a loss in the finale to Texas could be even more damaging.
In the first half, everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Texas A&M, putting them in this massive hole. Marcel Reed threw a pair of interceptions in the second quarter, which the Gamecocks cashed in for 10 points. Kicker Randy Bond missed a pair of field goals, which could've helped when the Aggies needed to come back in the second half.
Mike Elko was certainly deserving of a big contract considering how he's turned this program around, but the rush doesn't make a ton of sense. Elko still has plenty of time left on his deal, and the Aggies could've outbid any program that came calling, which makes making the move in-season even more puzzling.