Texas A&M coach Mike Elko didn’t mince his words after his team beat LSU on Saturday night to claim first place in the SEC.

No. 14 Aggies beat No. 8 Tigers 38-23 after a second-half quarterback change sparked A&M. After Conner Weigman was replaced by Marcel Reed, Texas A&M scored touchdowns on four straight drives. Thanks to those scores and three interceptions from LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, A&M pulled away in the fourth quarter for a comfortable victory.

“It’s a real program,” Elko said in his postgame press conference. “It’s not fake, it’s not a politician running this program that talks fast and badmouths everyone. It’s a real program and for all the recruits, it’s a real place and if you want to be really good at soccer, this is a really good place to be.

To be clear, Elko did not mention anyone by name in this quote above. But it’s all too easy to see how this could refer to former Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher, a man who talks pretty fast. Fisher was let go through the 2023 season despite a $70+ million buyout due to the massive contract extension he signed following the 2020 season.

Fisher consistently participated in stellar recruiting classes with the Aggies, but the results on the field didn’t match the stars in those classes. Outside of a 9-1 season during a COVID-impacted 2020, the Aggies lost at least four games in each of Fisher’s seasons with the team.

Elko was part of Fisher’s staff for this 2020 season. The former Duke head coach led Texas A&M’s defense from 2018-2021 before becoming head coach of the Blue Devils. After a flirtation with Kentucky coach Mark Stoops, A&M hired Elko in the offseason.

Kentucky is now 1-5 in the SEC this season after a home loss to Auburn on Saturday night. A&M, meanwhile, is 5-0 and has a very manageable conference schedule compared to the rest of the teams at the top of the conference. While Georgia still has games against Ole Miss and Tennessee and LSU faces Alabama, the Aggies have games at South Carolina and Auburn before renewing their rivalry against Texas on the final weekend of the season . If A&M beats the Gamecocks and Tigers, the Aggies could have a spot in the SEC title game before the Longhorns come to town.