COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No Texas A&M football coach has ever had a better chance to make a good first impression than Mike Elko, who nevertheless said before Saturday’s season opener that, given the choice, he would have preferred to debut against something other than seventh-ranked Notre Dame.

The Aggies’ first 14 coaches competed against teams including Sam Houston, Southwestern, Trinity, Austin College, a half-dozen high school teams and the Houston YMCA.

Only six A&M coaches have had the misfortune of playing a top-ranked team, and of those few, RC Slocum was the only one to win the W.

It still does.

Notre Dame stopped Elko from matching the patron saint of Aggie coaches when Riley Leonard led an 85-yard drive in the fourth quarter to give the Aggies a 23-13 victory. The game was attended by 107,315, the fourth-largest crowd in Kyle Field history.

“You deserved better,” Elko said in a public apology to the faithful.

“We didn’t give it to you.”

Hopes of an A&M upset were dashed when Conner Weigman’s fourth-and-2 pass was broken up and nearly became his third interception. That shows what kind of night it was.

And if that didn’t help, this did: Weigman lost his lunch during half-time.

“I just got a little sick,” Elko said.

“Puke and take action.”

Nice.

Weigman’s struggles in his return from a broken foot in Game 4 last year will be a point Elko will address this week. He completed just 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards, a pair of interceptions and a 54.7 passer rating. Couldn’t find a rhythm, Elko said, adding that they need to find ways to make him “more comfortable.”

Of all the problems the new boss faced early on, I don’t think this was one of them. But then again, Notre Dame is going to be a problem for a lot of teams this fall, not just one under new management.

Previous reigns have not been kind to Elko. Jimbo Fisher, fresh off perhaps the most touted/hyped contract in college football history, drew Northwestern State in his 2018 debut. Of course, he was drafted second by Clemson the following week, losing 28-26. A harbinger of sorts. Under Jimbo, the Aggies were good but never good enough, a mortal sin for those awards, not to mention the unforgiving SEC.

In the five seasons since, Jimbo has had his moments. A 9-1 season in 2020 and an upset of top-ranked Alabama the following year come to mind.

But he never won more than nine games and alienated the deep-pocketed Aggies.

That said, if Weigman hadn’t gotten hurt, I’m not sure Elko wouldn’t still be back at Duke. Before their starting quarterback got hurt, the Aggies were off to a 3-1 start. Weigman, who looked like the kind of quarterback Jimbo made famous at Florida State, finished last season with a 156.8 passer rating.

From that point on, A&M won four of the last nine games, exposing Jimbo’s flaws for all to see.

Elko won the job over Kentucky’s Mark Stoops — an awkward one, at that — because, as a former defensive coordinator, he was Aggie-tested and the Anti-Jimbo. He’s certainly likable. Even his former Duke players couldn’t quite get mad at him when ESPN visited him recently. The gist of the story was how Elko and Leonard, a former Duke coach and quarterback, would find themselves on the same field but on opposite sides of the sideline on Saturday.

Elko said he would have preferred to play against another quarterback than Leonard, citing so many admirable qualities that it was unclear whether he had coached him or taken him over.

“I told him after the game that I loved him,” Elko said. “I’ll be cheering for that kid for the rest of his life.”

Leonard took a while to get going, but in the third quarter he handed the ball to Jadarian Price, who cut down the left sideline and traveled 47 yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 13-6 lead. Notre Dame penalties (11 of 99 on the night) helped the Aggies pull even. A hands-to-the-face brought A&M to the Irish 21, where Stanford transfer EJ Smith — Emmitt’s boy! — made a 14-yard run to the 7. A pass interference penalty in the end zone brought the Aggies to the 2, where they employed a battering ram approach for a 13-13 tie.

But Leonard, who completed 18 of 30 runs for 158 yards and scored 63 more, took the steam out of the crowd on a warm night with his 85-yard march in the fourth inning.

“We’ve learned that we’re a good football team at times,” offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said, “but we’ve got to show that we can take advantage of every play, every drive, to be successful.

“We beat ourselves, mentally and physically.”

As a former defensive coordinator, Elko was offended that the Aggies gave up 198 yards rushing. As a head coach, he should have been upset that he wasn’t getting the same consideration as his predecessor, and I’m not talking about the contract.

By the way: Jimbo revealed this week that he’s not just sitting on the $75 million the Aggies owe him. He’s co-hosting a show on SiriusXM with a few of his former players. In the press release, he said, “I love talking about football almost as much as I love coaching.” We’ll just take his word for it. Honestly, I couldn’t follow half of what he said, and the other half wasn’t worth seeking out.

That’s Elko’s job now, to have and to keep, at least for a while. Saturday was proof that he’s got his hands full. On the bright side, not every game will be this tough. Next week, McNeese comes. It’s not the YMCA, but it’s the best athletic directors can do these days.

Twitter/X: @KSherringtonDMN

Find more Texas A&M coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.