Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko looked ahead to the Aggies' first conference games of the season during his weekly talk with reporters Monday.

The Aggies put the beat down on McNeese State last Saturday 52-10, but now face a much stiffer matchup. They'll travel to Gainesville, Florida to face off with the Gators and potentially two different quarterbacks.

EXCLUSIVE: Key takeaways from Mike Elko's first Aggie win

Here are some takeaways from Elko's comments:

Florida in the Swamp

The last time that the Aggies won an SEC road game, Elko hadn't left for Duke yet and Jimbo Fisher was wearing maroon and white.

They'll attempt to rediscover that road formula Saturday in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, one of the most heralded college stadiums in the country. Texas A&M is familiar with how stadiums can affect road teams; Kyle Field's legendary reputation precedes itself.

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"Things with your mechanics, how you work, your quarterback, center, snaps ... getting in and out of the huddle, how you communicate in bad environments," Elko said. "I think one of the things that makes this conference so unique is you're going to play in a hostile environment, no matter who, no matter where, no matter when. That certainly presents challenges."

Florida isn't expected to be in the upper echelon of the Southeastern Conference this year. They were demolished in Week 1 by Miami and got their first win of the season against Samford in Week 2. But Elko knows that in the SEC, "there are no easy road games."

A 'terrible' run defense

Holding McNeese to 10 points is nothing to sneeze at. However, a week after giving up 198 yards of rushing to Notre Dame, Texas A&M gave up 180 yards of rushing to the Cowboys.

Elko wasn't happy with how things went vs. the Irish and with his team's performance against McNeese, he didn't hold back when asked about it again.

"I mean, it's been terrible, if we're being honest, it's not been what we want it to be," Elko said. "Last week, it didn't start going south (in run defense) until we really started getting to some guys who haven't played a lot of football, and so I think that was good for them."

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To be fair, the Aggies made it a point to get a lot of guys into the game vs. McNeese State, and that shows in the stats. The Cowboys had 52 yards rushing in the first half and 128 in the second.

Florida senior running back Montrell Johnson is currently averaging 6.7 yards per attempt. Elko knows that his line will need to be better as they prepare for him and the Swamp.

"Certainly a lot of strides we've got to make to get that where it needs to be," Elko said.

Will Florida go with DJ Lagway or Graham Mertz? It's hard to say

Florida currently rosters DJ Lagway, the No. 2 quarterback from the 2024 recruiting class, according to 247Sports composite ranking. While he sat for most of the Gators' first game of the season, he was thrust into the action after quarterback Graham Mertz suffered a concussion.

Lagaway finished his first appearance vs. Miami with 31 yards and an interception. He was much better vs. Samford, completing 18 of 25 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns. Impressive stats, but coach Billy Napier did make it clear that he plans on using both quarterbacks vs. the Aggies. He wasn't ready to divulge whether Lagway or Mertz would start, however.

The two could not be much more different, with Mertz being a trusted six-year veteran and Lagaway having the hype and potential expected of a top recruit.

"You don't really know how they're going to use them," Elko said. "To some degree, that part of it's a little bit like an opener, because there's some uncertainty and unknown ... you just got to formulate the plan that you think will get your kids in the best position to be successful and be ready to operate it however you have to."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M vs. Florida: Mike Elko's primary Gator concerns