COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M prepares to open its Southeastern Conference slate against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kyle Field this Saturday. Voice of the Fightin’ Texas A&M Aggies, Andrew Monaco joined Talk 1370’s “The Thing About Sports” to discuss the victory against the Arizona State Sun Devils and to talk about Saturday's game.
Reflecting on a recent 48-20 victory over Arizona State, Monaco noted that while final scorelines do not always tell the full story, the Aggies demonstrated resilience by pulling away late.
"Who knew that the dropped punt would be the turning point for A&M?" Monaco said, recalling the fourth-quarter moment when the score was 31-20. "They responded to each Arizona State touchdown, they responded with their own. I thought the fourth quarter defensively was Wrecking Crew-like, and I don't say that recklessly."
The defense converted mistakes into points, capitalizing on four turnovers to net 24 points off those opportunities. Monaco singled out head coach Mike Elko's emphasis on defensive efficiency as a primary driver of success.
"Can they get off the field on third down? That is a Mike Elko staple," Monaco explained, highlighting that holding Arizona State to 3-for-12 on third down was crucial to sustaining control. "He calls it the two-thirds eraser. You can be bad on first and second, but if you're good on third, you're off the field."
Heat and hydration were additional major themes of the discussion, particularly following a mid-week heat-related incident involving an Aggie player who required hospitalization before recovering. Monaco noted that modern wearable technology allows coaching staffs to detect dehydration indicators instantly during practice, preventing minor issues from turning severe.
"The beauty of this day and age [is] that you can identify that heat-related incident immediately because during practice everybody is wired," Monaco said. "You know when there's a dehydration coming, that's the beauty of technology."
Ahead of Saturday's 2:30 p.m. kickoff against Kentucky, Monaco cautioned that managing temperature and conditioning remains an ongoing challenge, especially against SEC opponents with high-level talent across their lineups.
"In a Mike Elko defense, once it goes cerebral, advantage defense," Monaco said. "It is an aggressive defense. Kentucky's going to know that there's going to be pressure coming; what Kentucky's not going to know is where it's going to be coming."
Listen to the game on Talk 1370 this Saturday with pregame coverage starting at 12:30pm
