Mike Elko sends message to the 12th Man after insane comeback vs. South Carolina
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
There wasn’t much for the 12th Man to cheer about during the first half of Texas A&M‘s Week 12 win over South Carolina. The Aggies had played a poor first couple of quarters, going into the locker room facing a 30-3 deficit.
All that changed in the second half. The Aggies’ offense came alive, putting up 28 unanswered points to come away with a 31-30 win.
By the end of the game, the biggest comeback in program history, Kyle Field was at fever pitch, even when they had every reason not to rally behind their team. Mike Elko acknowledged the effect the fans had on the team during their second-half comeback.
“Thank you for staying with us,” the Aggies head coach said in a message to fans during his postgame press conference. “Sorry for what the first half looked like, but in a lot of ways, you propelled us to victory in the second.”
Now, instead of what would have been a massive late-season loss, the Aggies are 10-0 for the first time since 1992. They should have no trouble with Samford in Week 13 before visiting Texas on Black Friday. A win puts them in the SEC Championship Game and almost certainly nails down a College Football Playoff berth no matter what happens in Atlanta on Dec. 6.
“I noticed it, obviously, in the fourth quarter when the crowd was really going,” Elko said. “But then just standing there at the end, sawing them off, and just seeing how full the stadium still was, it was an impressive showing by the 12th Man once again.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
