Bjork will succeed Gene Smith, who will retire in July.

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“I have been extraordinarily fortunate to work with so many outstanding student-athletes, coaches, staff and university leaders throughout my career, and Ohio State represents the culmination of these efforts,” Bjork stated in a release. “To be a part of Buckeye Nation, along with its storied traditions and long history of achievement, is a tremendous honor and a welcome challenge. I can’t wait to get started.”

Bjork led numerous projects while at Texas A&M. Among them include the construction of an academic and wellness center, football indoor performance center and indoor track stadium, according to a release.

READ: Michigan RB Donovan Edwards to return in 2024

Bjork also oversaw “the creation of AMPLIFY and AMPLIFY Local Exchange, which equips student-athletes with education and resources related to finance, personal branding, networking and media training.”

Bjork also was the athletics director at Mississippi where he was the youngest director of athletics within the Power Five. He also has stops at Western Kentucky, the University of California, Los Angeles, Miami and Missouri.

“Ross is uniquely equipped to step into our Buckeye community and make an immediate impact,” Smith stated in a release. “As I have said, Ohio State has afforded me the professional opportunity of a lifetime, and I am forever grateful. My final, important project over the next several months will be to work with Ross to ensure a smooth and effective transition with our student-athletes, coaches, department staff and university leaders.”

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Elko will follow former Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher, who was fired on Nov. 12. 

“Coach Mike Elko is one of the best leaders and coaches in college football and has had high-level success at each stop of his career,” Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork stated in a release. “He is known amongst coaching circles as one of the best defensive minds in the country and has shown his ability to lead and turn around a program as a Power 5 head coach.” 

PODCAST: Week 13 almost had all-out chaos

Elko previously served as Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2018-21. 

Elko led the Blue Devils to a 16-9 record over one-plus seasons including a win in last year’s Military Bowl. 

The post Texas A&M names Duke’s Mike Elko next head coach  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Washington and Liberty are all 10-0 this season.  

PODCAST: Week 11 Recap: Are things getting any clearer?

The Flames have won each of their past three games by double figures. Quarterback Kaidon Salter has 2,184 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions. 

Here are some noteworthy quotes as focus turns from Week 11 to Week 12. 

Ross Bjork, Texas A&M 

Texas A&M made the decision to fire head coach Jimbo Fisher on Sunday, announcing the change in leadership. 

Athletics director Ross Bjork spoke about the process and reasons behind the decision in a press conference. As the Aggies are 6-4 and 4-3 in Southeastern Conference play, Bjork said the program has been “stuck in neutral.” 

“In my analysis I determined at this point, and for lots of reasons, our program is stuck in neutral,” Bjork said. “We should be relevant on the national scene. Something is not clicking, something is not working and therefore, something had to give in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential. As leaders every decision we make, or every decision we don’t make, has consequences. Consistency in how the program operates on a daily basis impacts the confidence level of every single person in the program and thus influences performance. Based on my experience, the best programs have confidence. The program has an established identity. The program maximizes the talent. The leadership is fully integrated in the university, the athletics program and its culture. I did not feel like we were meeting those standards of excellence and leadership.” 

James Franklin, Penn State 

James Franklin and Penn State suffered a 24-15 loss to the Wolverines, and it effectively dropped the Nittany Lions in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll to No. 12. 

Franklin hasn’t performed well in top-10 matchups. He’s 3-18 in those games, and he’s 12-26 in ranked matchups during his 10-year tenure as head coach. 

READ: Stat Pack: Week 11

The Nittany Lions tried a pair of two-point conversions at Michigan, one in the second quarter and another in the fourth. Quarterback Drew Allar failed both pass attempts, keeping it a 14-9 game with less than a minute to go in the first half and maintaining a 24-15 deficit with less than two minutes left in the game. 

“We felt like points were going to be hard to come by,” Franklin said. “We were down by four. We wanted to put ourselves in a position to get it back to a field goal game. Again, those were all the numbers we work through from an analytic standpoint as a staff. Everybody was comfortable with that it was the right thing to do. Obviously, we didn’t pick it up.” 

Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss 

Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss suffered a top-10 defeat themselves at the hands of Georgia, dropping the game 52-17. 

The Rebels were in the game 14-14 early in the second quarter, but then gave up four touchdowns and a field goal as the Bulldogs ballooned the score to 45-14. They were held to just three points in the second half. 

Ole Miss’ record is 8-2 and good enough to be tied for second place in the SEC West Division at 5-2, right there with LSU. 

But that’s not where Kiffin and the Rebels want to be. They want to be on the other side of the top-10 bouts and coming out victorious, but they have to figure out how. 

“That’s a good question. I mean, we got to recruit at a higher level,” Kiffin said. “And I’m not blaming people, we got to coach better. But, you know, at some point whatever those stats are — we’ve signed one five-star, they’ve signed 24 or something. Those kind of do show up at some point. So we’d have to recruit it at a better level, do a better job on recruiting.” 

The post Quotables: Week 11  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

The Aggies program announced Sunday that the program will see a change in leadership and remove Fisher from his position. 

“After very careful analysis of all the components related to Texas A&M football, I recommended to President Welsh and then Chancellor Sharp that a change in the leadership of the program was necessary in order for Aggie football to reach our full potential and they accepted my decision,” Texas A&M athletics director Ross Bjork stated in a release. “We appreciate Coach Fisher’s time here at Texas A&M and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.” 

PODCAST: November crowns champions and who will step up in week 11?

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, “the future of Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was discussed heavily in an executive session of a Texas A&M Board of Regents meeting on Thursday.” 

Fisher is in his sixth season as head coach of the Aggies. They have a 6-4 record and 4-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play. 

As a result of Fisher’s dismissal, Texas A&M will be on the hook to pay a buyout of around $76 million, and the university plans to “honor his contract in full,” according to Thamel. 

READ: No. 3 Wolverines ‘didn’t flinch’ without Harbaugh at No. 10 Penn State

According to Thamel, “associate head coach Elijah Robinson is expected to serve as the interim coach.” 

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