What a rush! The Gamecocks improved to 5-3 after defeating No. 10 Texas A&M 44–20 after dropping nine straight games. This causes Mike Elko’s Texas A&M’s record to fall to 7-2 overall. Their chances of making it to the CFB Playoffs, however, declined. Error is no longer an option. They must win every game in order to qualify for the playoffs. But hold on, the Gamecocks, who haven’t performed well this season, are the cause of this defeat? Not acceptable, right? Even the CFB community doesn’t accept this, and the question of starting quarterback has come up.

When Marcel Reed’s skill was questioned during the post-game conference, Elko handled the situation very cleverly and placed all the responsibility on him. “We couldn’t run the ball, couldn’t tackle and couldn’t control the quarterback. We didn’t do any of the things you need to do to win a football game. That’s why we lost,” he said. However, he was then asked to assess his starting quarterback’s performance.

Mike Elko went into extensive length about the Aggies’ defensive deficiencies and starting QB’s ‘up-and-down’ play, saying, “It was certainly up and down. We’re not built to play that kind of game. We can’t get behind like that in the second half. Once it got to that point, and we couldn’t play the game that we’re better at — that really hurt us.”

On top of this, he added, “He’s still a young kid. He’s learning. He’s getting better. He’s got to be a little bit more careful with the football. The interception on the first down was a huge momentum swing. We were down 10 at that point. He’s got to learn. The game is certainly not on him. He’s the starter now, and we will see where we go.”

Safe to say, the coach claimed that a number of other factors, beginning with himself, contributed to their defeat in this football matchup. But why does he take full responsibility for the game’s defeat to South Carolina? Is it because he chose to play Marcel as the starting quarterback? Or anything else. What might be the cause? Not sure.

Certainly, Marcel was not the starting quarterback at the start of the season. Weigman was. But he missed the team’s first game of the season due to a sprained throwing shoulder that was made worse during the team’s game against the Gators. Then, for three games, Marcel played as QB1. As of now, Weigman started playing against LSU, but Mike stopped him and went with Reed. And he played well against LSU.

So, does Marcel truly merit these inquiries about his skills? Before questioning him, you should at least look at how he performed in the most recent game.

Mike Elko’s 4-star starting QB’s performance

“What a night to be an Aggie!” Kirk Herbstreit said, praising Marcel’s performance against LSU. Indeed, he was incredible that night. In the first half, A&M was unable to open numerous opportunities against the LSU defense, and Weigman only managed 64 yards. However, when Texas failed to LSU in the third quarter, Mike Elko benched Weigman and attempted to restart the offense by handing the football to Marcel. Reed entered the court with 8:10 left in the third quarter.

Reed ignited the game’s first possession with an 8-yard TD run to the pleasure of Kyle Field’s third-highest-ever crowd. He then guided the Aggies to four touchdowns and a field goal in his next five drives, helping No. 14 overcome No. 8, 38–23. It’s safe to say that coach Elko gave Reed plenty of praise for his exceptional performance, stating, “Obviously unbelievable credit to Marcel Reed to be ready to go tonight.”

However, not only this. Before that, in the close battle against Bowling Green, he rushed for 91 yards and threw for 173 yards, demonstrating his ability to remain composed under pressure. He also threw for 178 yards versus Florida. Hence, the 2024 regular season has seen Reed amass 422 yards and four touchdowns thus far. It is anticipated that he will make amazing moves in the following game and that one poor performance won’t deter him.