Texas A&M has some regrouping to do after the Aggies suffered a shocking 31-21 loss to Kentucky at Kyle Field in Week 3.
Much of the blame for the loss fell on junior quarterback Marcel Reed, who struggled with accuracy and passing precision. In 19 games against power conference opponents, Reed has thrown 21 interceptions. Despite throwing for 236 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 80 yards and a score on the ground, the Nashville, Tennessee, native threw two interceptions and looked wildly inconsistent on the gridiron for the Aggies.
Meanwhile, Texas A&M's defense allowed four touchdowns in five drives in the second half. With a trip to Death Valley coming up next Saturday night, the Aggies must improve in several areas to be competitive
in SEC play.
Here is everything Mike Elko, Marcus Ratcliffe and Reed said after the upset loss to the Wildcats on Saturday in College Station:
Elko gives credit to how well Kentucky played against Texas A&M
"Hats off to Kentucky. They came in here, and they beat our ass. Not good enough for us on any level coaching, playing, performing, physicality, anything. It's on me. I own it. It's my program. I'm in charge of it, and we have to get it fixed," Elko said.
Elko's evaluation of Reed's performance
"I think it's a plethora of things. More than anything, it's a kid who is pressing. He is feeling like he has to defend himself a lot. You can see the stress hit him. I have been trying to get him to relax. It's like a pitcher not able to show strikes. He has to relax and play the way he is capable of,"
Elko gives an update on Terry Bussey's injury
"That is probably a long one. There is no sign that indicates that's good right now," Elko said.
Elko on the performance against the Wildcats
"There are no positives. There is not an ounce of a positive," Elko said.
Elko's update on running back KJ Edwards
"He went down and was unavailable. We had a plan to play him with Morrow out. He got injured and was out for the rest of the game," Elko said.
Elko on Texas A&M's run defense
"Poor. Really poor across the board," Elko said.
Elko's message to the team after the loss
"Man up. You figure out what you are about during adversity. Everybody will quit on us. That's how this thing works. It's never been about everybody. It's about people inside that locker room," Elko said.
Elko's takeaways from the loss to the Wildcats
"I did not do a good enough job of coaching this team and preparing this team. I don't take any positives from this game. I don't want to take away anything from Kentucky. Kentucky came in here and whooped us," Elko said.
Ratcliffe discusses what went down on Saturday
"I think we went back to the problem we had in the past. Missed tackles, misfits, stuff like that. They got explosive yards because of it," Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe's thoughts on the loss
"This is 100 percent on us. It starts with me. I didn't play the best game I could. We had a really loose week. There is a lot of season and football ahead of us. Monday, we will tighten things up and attack next week," Ratcliffe said.
Reed on the challenges he's facing at the helm
"Mental, and I can control that. I have to fix that immediately and build my confidence back up. It's not like I lost it, but this one definitely hurt. It's not fun losing. I can make those throws and will make those throws down the stretch," Reed said.
Reed on Bussey's injury
"It hurts to see that. Knowing Ashton Bethel-Roman was out, and Bussey goes down on the first play. We have athletic, great receivers behind them. It always has been a next-man-up thing for Texas A&M football," Reed said. "It hurt me to see that first play after all the work Terry has put in."
Reed's thoughts on the loss
"It's a learning experience, and we have to come back even stronger next week. We have a good opponent in a hostile environment," Reed said.
Reed gives his evaluation of the Texas A&M offense
"I think the first three weeks have been okay. New system, and we have to execute better. It's up to me. I have to take ownership of all this stuff," Reed said.
Reed on what went wrong for the Aggies
"I think we didn't finish. We moved the ball well early. We got in the red zone and didn't capitalize. That gave them that momentum shift, and they held on to it," Elko said.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Everything Texas A&M HC, players said after shocking Kentucky loss
