Mike Elko loses cool with Longhorns celebrations after Texas comments
Mike Elko lost his cool in his press conference after losing to Texas(Image: Texas A&M)Texas A&M coach Mike Elko was furious as his press conference was interrupted by Texas' celebrations after an upset win for the Longhorns on Friday.Elko engaged in the fighting talk ahead of the matchup between the No. 3 Aggies and No. 16 Texas at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, billing Texas A&M as the "flagship football program in the state." Those comments would come back to bite him as Arch Manning and the Longhorns dealt the Aggies their first defeat of the season.The defeat cost Texas A&M (11-1) a spot in next week's SEC Championship game, which will be contested by Georgia and Alabama. The Aggies will still make the College Football Playoff, while Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian made an impassioned plea to the playoff committee for his team to make the cut after Friday's win.READ MORE: Dan Lanning rallying cry answered by Oregon players in Washington victoryREAD MORE: LeBron James 'so proud' of Ohio State star after leading role in Michigan gameThe defeat left Elko raging, and he lost his cool during his media availability after the game. As he answered a reporter's question, the celebrations from the Texas locker room could be heard in the press center, and the 48-year-old's frustrations boiled over."Can we close the door and run a professional press conference, please? My gosh." an exasperated Elko said before apologising for losing his composure.A few minutes before, Elko had been ruthlessly trolled by Longhorns fans. A clip of his pregame declaration that A&M was the superior program was played on the big screen was played with Texas in victory formation, promoting a huge reaction from the home crowd.The Aggies controlled proceedings in the first half and took a 10-3 lead into the interval, but they mustered only seven second-half points, and Elko was dumbfounded by the performance his players delivered after the break.Manning put the Longhorns into the lead midway through the third quarter, connecting with Ryan Wingo for a 29-yard touchdown pass. They tightened their grip in the opening seconds of the fourth, with Nick Townsend powering across the plain for a two-yard rush to make it 20-10.EJ Smith gave the Aggies hope of a comeback with a 13-yard burst into the endzone, narrowing the deficit to three with nine minutes on the clock. But Manning clinched the win with a 35-yard scamper into paydirt, putting the finishing touches on Texas' best result of the season.READ MORE: Nick Saban says Lane Kiffin decision on Ole Miss future will 'come down to one thing'READ MORE: Nancy Pelosi strangely brought up during Boston College-Syracuse broadcast"Obviously, give them credit," Elko said. "They went out in the second half and made the plays they needed to make to win the football game. From our perspective, just very disappointed with how we played in the second half."We didn't play Texas A&M football at all. It was by far the worst half we've played of the year, and you're not gonna win in those types of situations. We didn't."It hurts, and it should. This game means a lot, but we've got to regroup and we've got to get ready for the playoffs."
