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Mike Elko after Kentucky loss: 'No positives' as No. 9 Texas A&M fades after halftime

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Cite

Rieken, K. (2026, September 20). Mike Elko after Kentucky loss: 'No positives' as No. 9 Texas A&M fades after halftime. Toronto Star. https://www.thestar.com/sports/football/mike-elko-after-kentucky-loss-no-positives-as-no-9-texas-a-m-fades-after-halftime/article_82ef79dd-792b-5503-95d2-877778318c8f.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Toronto Star · collected 2026-09-20 · by Kristie Rieken

Quick Summary

Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko criticized his team's performance after they lost to Kentucky in a Southeastern Conference matchup, stating there were "no positives" following the game. The ninth-ranked Aggies fell behind by 28 points early in the fourth quarter and struggled against former defensive coordinator Jay Bateman of Kentucky. Quarterback Marcel Reed faced difficulties with execution despite familiarity with the defense, leading Elko to suggest that Reed is pressing and needs to play more relaxed.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In their first road game under rookie coach Will Stein, Kentucky shocked the college football world by defeating No. 9 Texas A&M 31-21 in College Station on September 28, 2024. Kentucky's Kenny Minchey threw two touchdown passes and CJ Baxter scored two rushing touchdowns as the Wildcats dominated the third quarter to turn a tied game into a 28-7 lead. Kentucky’s defense, led by defensive coordinator Jay Bateman—who previously coached at Texas A&M—held Marcel Reed to 236 passing yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Despite rallying late in the fourth quarter, the Aggies could not overcome their deficit, dropping their Southeastern Conference opener. This victory marked Kentucky’s first win over a ranked opponent since downing No. 6 Ole Miss on September 28, 2024, and gave Stein his first road conference win as head coach.

Written for “Kentucky Upsets Texas A&M” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Kentucky Upsets Texas A&M
Sports · 3 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 27 claims Outlet record 69/100
Toronto Star
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 64/100
“The articles describe different parts of the same game; one focuses on Kentucky's victory and performance while the other is an interview with Texas A&M's coach after the loss.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
33
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 33 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
64/100
Toronto Star's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
3
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Toronto Star · 11094 article(s) · 28 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 28 correction(s)
2026-10-26
Correction
2026-10-24
Correction
2026-10-07
Correction
2026-09-24
Correction

Who wrote this

Kristie Rieken
30 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “Can’t give up some of those runs ... with this type of defense that we have, you almost have to be perfect,” defensive end Will Anderson said.
🔮 Stroud will also get one of his favorite playmakers back with Tank Dell set to play in his first game in almost two years after recovering from a gruesome knee injury.
🔮 Houston’s normally fearsome pass rush led by defensive ends Will Anderson Jr., who leads the NFL with 7 1/2 sacks, and Danielle Hunter was shut down on Sunday.
🔮 Ryans said Harrison should arrive in Houston on Monday and they will try to get him acclimated quickly so he can help this week.
🔮 “I definitely think it’s a form of fear because the thought of what everybody else around them would think,” Montgomery said.
🔮 “You’ve just got to finish, lock in, do your job,” defensive end Will Anderson said.
🔮 “It’s frustrating, but it’s the NFL,” defensive end Will Anderson said.
🔮 Javonte Williams ran for a career-high three touchdowns — all in the second half — to help the Cowboys to the victory.
🔮 If he plays Sunday, it will be his first action of the season after he was inactive for the first three games while upset about his contract situation and dealing with a back issue.
🔮 The takeaway The Razorbacks have trouble on both sides of the ball and will have to clean up their problems quickly if they hope to avoid another bad season after going 2-10 last year.
Also by Kristie Rieken
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 30 articles by Kristie Rieken →

Topics

A&M Aggies Kentucky Texas A&M’s Wildcats

Subjects

Aggies ORG · 7× Reed PERSON · 7× Wildcats ORG · 4× Elko PERSON · 3× A&M ORG · 2× Kentucky GPE · 2× Texas A&M’s ORG · 2× Mike Elko PERSON · 1× Texas GPE · 1× Texas A&M ORG · 1×

Narrative

The ninth-ranked Aggies gave up 21 straight points after halftime to turn a tie game into a 28-7 deficit that proved too big to overcome as they dropped their Southeastern Conference opener.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 But I can make those throws and I will make those throws down the stretch.”

Claims (33 extracted, 0 hedged)

“There’s no positives,” the third-year coach said. asserted
coach → ’ → ?
There’s a product that’s not good enough. asserted
that → ’ → ?
That starts with me.” asserted
That → start → me
The ninth-ranked Aggies gave up 21 straight points after halftime to turn a tie game into a 28-7 deficit that proved too big to overcome as they dropped their Southeastern Conference opener. asserted
they → rank → opener
But as the last few minutes of the fourth quarter ticked away, large swaths of the upper deck were empty as many fans left early rather than watch the Wildcats celebrate on their field. asserted
Wildcats → tick → field
The game pitted Texas A&M’s offense against Kentucky defensive coordinator Jay Bateman, who spent the last two years in the same position with the Aggies. asserted
who → pit → Aggies
He seemed to have Texas A&M’s number, keeping the Aggies off-balance all day and limiting Marcel Reed to 26 of 49 passing for 236 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. asserted
He → seem → touchdown
Reed didn’t think Bateman’s familiarity with the Aggies’ offense helped the Wildcats on Saturday. asserted
familiarity → think → Saturday
“I just don’t think we executed the way we needed to,” Reed said. asserted
Reed → think → ?
“That’s a defense that I’ve seen a lot. asserted
I → ’ → lot
So, we should have been able to execute pretty well. asserted
we → execute → ?
So, yeah, we have just got to do better.” asserted
we → get → ?
The Aggies had punted on their previous two possessions when they went for it on fourth-and-2 from their own 33 when they were down 14 in the third quarter. asserted
they → punt → quarter
But Reed’s pass fell incomplete to give the Wildcats great field position. asserted
pass → fall → position
The Wildcats took advantage of the short field when CJ Baxter scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run near the end of a third quarter in which they outgained A&M 196 yards to 20. asserted
they → take → 20
Elko said he thinks Reed is struggling because he’s pressing. asserted
he → say → ?
He feels like he’s got to defend himself a lot,” Elko said. asserted
Elko → feel → himself
“That’s not an excuse, but that’s a reality. asserted
that → ’ → ?
I think you can see him pressing. asserted
him → think → ?
You can see the stress in him when he’s trying to throw, because he’s trying to be perfect.” asserted
he → see → him
Elko has been working with his QB to try and get him to play more relaxed and said he’ll continue to try and help him do that. asserted
him → work → that
“I’ve got to get him mentally to a place where he can really cut it loose and feel free and play,” he said. asserted
he → get → it
“I think that, more than anything, right now is the issue with him. asserted
issue → think → him
It’s like a pitcher sometimes who struggles to throw strikes. asserted
who → ’ → strikes
It’s just growing on him. asserted
It → grow → him
And he’s got to be able to relax and play the way he’s capable of.” asserted
he → get → ?
Reed, who is in his third year as A&M’s starter, agreed that his issues are more mental than physical. asserted
issues → agree → starter
“So, I’ve got to fix that immediately, and just build my confidence back up,” he said. asserted
he → get → confidence
“It’s not like I lost it or anything, but this one definitely hurt. asserted
one → ’ → it
It’s not fun losing, and that’s a conference game. asserted
that → ’ → ?
But I can make those throws and I will make those throws down the stretch.” asserted
I → make → stretch
Reed and the Aggies will must try to fix their problems quickly with a trip to Death Valley to face No. 7 LSU coming next Saturday night. asserted
trip → try → LSU
“We’ve got to get right back to work starting tomorrow and prepare our minds for going to Baton Rouge,” Reed said. asserted
Reed → get → Rouge
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