What a chaotic Black Friday in college football—two blowout rivalry wins that lit up scoreboards and social media alike, but the real fireworks detonated in postgame pressers. On one side of the Lone Star State, Texas A&M’s Mike Elko cracked under the weight of a stunning upset loss to Texas, his frustration spilling over into a viral meltdown amid echoing Longhorns cheers. Across the country in Morgantown, West Virginia’s Neal Brown unloaded on Texas Tech’s “NIL muscle” after a historic shutout drubbing, only for Red Raiders coach Joey McGuire to fire back with ice-cold precision. These weren’t just sour grapes; they were battle cries in the escalating NIL wars, exposing the raw fault lines of a sport where money now calls more plays than any coordinator. With the transfer portal looming and CFP spots on the line, these rants could echo through recruiting cycles. Let’s unpack the doubleheader of drama.
Lone Star Showdown: Texas 27, Texas A&M 17 – Elko’s Breaking Point
The No. 16 Longhorns (9-3, 6-2 SEC) played spoiler in Austin, rallying from a 10-3 halftime deficit to hand the No. 3 Aggies (11-1, 8-1) their first loss of the season and boot them from the SEC Championship Game. Arch Manning stepped up big in place of the injured Quinn Ewers, scrambling for a dagger 35-yard TD run late in the fourth to seal it, while the Texas D snagged two picks from Marcel Reed (one sealing the deal at the goal line). Wisner gouged for 155 rushing yards, and Texas’ third top-10 win (after Oklahoma and Michigan) has Steve Sarkisian pounding the table for a CFP at-large bid: “We’re the first team since 2019 LSU to beat three top-10s in the regular season… it’d be a disservice to our sport if we’re not in.”
But the game’s true climax? The Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium video board trolling Elko in the final seconds, replaying his 2024 boast that A&M—not Texas—is the “flagship” program in the state. Elko’s squad had entered unbeaten, eyeing history, only to collapse with just 35 yards in the second half amid penalties and misreads.
The Press Room Meltdown: “Close the Door!”
Tucked in a cramped concourse interview room next to the raucous Longhorns’ locker room celebration, Elko’s postgame presser turned into a pressure cooker. As cheers from Texas players—chanting and popping champagne—bled through an open door, Elko snapped mid-sentence while dissecting his team’s “worst half” of the year: “We didn’t play the way we needed to… CAN WE CLOSE THE DOOR AND RUN A PROFESSIONAL PRESS CONFERENCE, PLEASE?!” The clip went mega-viral on X, racking up millions of views, with fans dubbing it “Elko’s Exile” and memes flooding timelines
A reporter (The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel) later owned up to cracking the door unwittingly amid exiting fans, but Elko’s ire was broader—frustration over back-to-back losses to Texas (including last year’s thriller), Reed’s red-zone INTs, and the dashed SEC title dreams. No direct NIL shots from Elko here (despite the doc’s tease), but Aggies insiders whisper recruiting imbalances fueled the fire—A&M’s $15M+ NIL collective lags behind Texas’ powerhouse “Horns with Heart” war chest. Sarkisian, ever the diplomat, kept it classy: “Give them credit—they made it in the second half,” while praising his team’s grit. But the stadium troll? Pure pettiness perfection, as one X user quipped: “Flagship? More like flagship fail.
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