COLLEGE STATION — Texas A&M's Week 1 loss to Notre Dame was a difficult way to open the season and Mike Elko's tenure as head coach.

Not only was that game tied with five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but quarterback Conner Weigman left much to be desired after throwing for 100 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions.

However, Saturday's 52-10 demolition of McNeese State was a declaration of confidence. By halftime, the Aggies had 38 points and 314 yards of offense, already surpassing the 246 yards they finished with against Notre Dame.

"We talked a lot this week about the strength, the support for this program and how strong it is. It's the people who show up every weekend in Kyle Field. So we thank them for coming out," Elko said after his first win with A&M.

KEY TAKEAWAYS: Le'Veon Moss comes up big in Mike Elko's first Aggie win

Weigman looked much better than in Week 1. He was more confident in his throws, completing 11 of 14 passes for 125 yards and two touchdowns. The only reason he didn't have more yards was because the Aggies' rushing game was simply too dominant.

"He attacked the game today," center Koli Faaui said. "And you know, that's what everybody wants to see from a quarterback. the level of fire that you have in the sideline for us. And after, no matter if we scored or if we came off the sideline kicking the field goal, it was always just, 'Hey, let's move on next play.'"

Le'Veon Moss and the offensive line's first drive included runs of 31 and 14 yards, with the back eventually punching it in from the 2-yard line. Amari Daniels and Terry Bussey both saw touches early, and even Weigman showed off his athleticism, running for 39 yards and hitting a McNeese State defender with a nasty spin move on an 18-yard run. The group finished with 333 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

"Yeah, I feel like we took this last week of preparation really hard. Every little detail that we found against this team. We came out here knowing what was going to happen," Faaui said.

But how much can Texas A&M actually takeaway from their beatdown of McNeese State? The Cowboys started Kamden Sixkiller in place of starter Clifton McDowell, who was out with an injury. Despite his cool last name, Sixkiller is a backup for a mid-major school for a reason.

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McNeese State didn't crack 100 yards of offense until the beginning of the third quarter. Sixkiller ended the third with 47 yards passing and two interceptions. They were shutout until early in the fourth quarter. Part of that was due to a ravenous Aggies defense. Part of it was because the Cowboys don't have the talent to compete with an SEC squad.

After Sixkiller's second interception, Elko had seen enough. He replaced Weigman with backup Marcel Reed, who ended the third quarter with 47 yards on 3 of 5 passing and 28 yards rushing.

Texas A&M still gained a lot from the win, even if the Cowboys weren't the strongest opponent. Elko was happy with how many players he was able to play, especially in the second half. But he admitted that it wasn't a perfect game by any means.

"It wasn't pretty at times. It wasn't to the level we needed it to be at times, but the only way those guys are going to learn is going to be to get on the field and get any game action," Elko said.

Things will be different next week. The Aggies' first SEC road game against Florida will be a better barometer on where Texas A&M stands in the conference. The Gators may have suffered a loss Week 1 to Miami but since the start of the 1990 season, Florida is 160-30 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, otherwise known as "the Swamp."

The Aggies made a statement against McNeese State. But that's not all that matters.

"There's a lot more to this season than just responding today," Elko said.

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M vs. McNeese State: Aggies notch first 2024 win