How Rueben Owens is Reviving Texas A&M’s Rushing Attack

“This is the second week in a row that in an SEC football game, we had to get big and physical,” Elko said after the game. “We were able to get big and physical and pound out yards. And yards are hard to come by running in this conference. There's so many big, athletic bodies. Our offensive line is doing a really good job. Our backs are doing a really good job. It was awesome to see Rueben go out tonight and have the night that he had, running for 142 yards and really carrying the rock the way he did. It was really cool to see. It's a big part of success in this conference, and we've got to continue to do it.”

The Aggies had seemingly abandoned their rushing game early in the season, which came as a surprise, as they were the second-best team in the SEC on the ground.

”People were worried about it. I wasn't,” Elko said. “We weren't unsuccessfully rushing the ball in the beginning of the year. We just weren't really featuring that part of the game for a variety of reasons.“

Against Mississippi State, Owens had his much-awaited breakout game after a knee injury kept him sidelined for most of last season. Before going down, Owens was set to be A&M’s feature back before Moss stole the show once Owens was sidelined.

“I thought [Owens] had his best two weeks of practice the last two weeks,” Elko said. ”I think he is starting to understand not just being a talented back in open space but how to hit lines and angles to get into open space a little bit more consistently. And I think you're just starting to see him become a more complete back. He's got unbelievable open-field ability. He's learning how to become a back between the tackles, which will obviously allow him in this conference to get into open field a little bit more often. And so it's been really good to see his development.”