Texas
Conner Weigman, Texas A&M do Mike Elko no favors in losing debut vs. Notre Dame
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No Texas A&M football coach ever had a better shot at making a good first impression than Mike Elko, who nevertheless said before Saturday’s opener that if he’d had his druthers, he’d have preferred a debut against something other than seventh-ranked Notre Dame.
The Aggies’ first 14 coaches broke in against the likes of Sam Houston, Southwestern, Trinity, Austin College, a half-dozen high school teams and the Houston YMCA.
Only six A&M coaches had the misfortune to start out against a ranked team, and, of those precious few, R.C. Slocum owned the lone W.
Still does.
Notre Dame denied Elko’s bid to match the patron saint of Aggie coaches when Riley Leonard led an 85-yard fourth-quarter drive for a 23-13 win over the 20th-ranked Aggies in front of 107,315, 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.”
A&M’s upset hopes died when Conner Weigman’s fourth-and-2 pass was broken up and nearly became his third interception, which tells you what kind of night it was.
And if that didn’t, this did: Weigman lost his lunch at halftime.
“Just got a little sick,” is how Elko put it.
“Puke and rally.”
Nice.
Weigman’s struggles in his return from a broken foot in the fourth game last year will be a point for Elko to revisit this week. He completed just 12 of 30 passes for 100 yards, a couple of picks and a 54.7 passer rating. Couldn’t get in a rhythm, Elko said, adding they must find ways to make him more “comfortable.”
Of all the issues the new boss figured to face early, I’m thinking this wasn’t one of them. Then again, Notre Dame will present problems for a lot of teams this fall, and not just one under new management.
Previous administrations didn’t do Elko any favors. Jimbo Fisher, fresh off maybe the most ballyhooed/hooted contract in college football history, drew Northwestern State in his 2018 debut. Of course, the next week he got second-ranked Clemson and lost, 28-26. A harbinger of sorts. Under Jimbo, the Aggies were good but never quite good enough, a cardinal sin at those prices, not to mention in the merciless SEC.
Over the next five seasons, Jimbo had his moments. A 9-1 season in 2020 and an upset of top-ranked Alabama the next year come to mind.
But he never won more than nine games and alienated Aggies with fat wallets.
Having said that, if Weigman hadn’t gotten hurt, I’m not so sure Elko wouldn’t still be back at Duke. Before their starting quarterback’s injury, the Aggies were on their way to a 3-1 start. Weigman, who looked like the kind of quarterback that made Jimbo famous at Florida State, closed out last season with a 156.8 passer rating.
From that point, A&M won four of its last nine games, leaving Jimbo’s warts for all to see.
Elko won the job over Kentucky’s Mark Stoops — a clumsy bit of business, at that — because he’d been Aggie-tested as a former defensive coordinator and came up the Anti-Jimbo. He’s certainly likeable. Even his former Duke players couldn’t work up much of a mad against him when ESPN visited 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 different sidelines Saturday.
Elko maintained he’d rather have faced any quarterback than Leonard, listing so many admirable traits it wasn’t clear if he’d coached him or adopted him.
“I told him I loved him after the game,” Elko said. “I will be rooting for the kid for the rest of his life.”
Leonard took a little while to get things going, but, in the third quarter, he handed off to Jadarian Price, who cut to the left sideline and went 47 yards for the game’s first touchdown and a 13-6 lead. Notre Dame penalties (11 for 99 on the night) helped the Aggies pull even. A hands-to-the face moved A&M to the Irish 21, where Stanford transfer EJ Smith — Emmitt’s boy! — ripped off a 14-yard run to the 7. A pass interference penalty in the end zone put the Aggies at the 2, whereupon they took a battering ram approach to a 13-13 tie.
But Leonard, who finished 18 of 30 for 158 yards and rushed for 63 more, took all of the steam out of the crowd on a hot night with his 85-yard march in the fourth.
“We learned we have glimpses where we are a good football team,” offensive tackle Trey Zuhn said, “but we need to show we can strain 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 mad that he didn’t get the same considerations his predecessor did, and I’m not talking about the contract.
By the way: Jimbo revealed this week that he’s not just sitting on that $75 million the Aggies owe him. He’s co-hosting a show with a couple of his ex-players on SiriusXM. In the press release, he said, “I love talking about football almost as much as I love coaching.” We’ll take his word for it. Frankly, half of what he said I couldn’t follow, and the other half wasn’t worth the chase.
This is Elko’s job now, to have and to hold, at least for a while. Saturday was proof that he has his hands full. On the bright side, not every game will be as difficult. Next week, in fact, brings McNeese. 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.
Texas is planning its grid around an unprecedented wave of AI-driven power demand that the state’s energy regulator says may not fully materialize on projected timelines.
In a recent filing to the Public Utility Commission of Texas, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) projected statewide power demand could surge to nearly 368 GW by 2032 – more than four times the state’s current peak demand record of 85.5 GW. But the filing also contains an unusual warning from the grid operator itself.
“ERCOT has concerns with using the preliminary load forecast values for the Reliability Assessment and any other transmission and resource adequacy analysis,” the organization wrote in its April 2026 long-term load forecast filing.
The organization added that it may seek adjustments to the forecast based on “actual historical realization rates or other objective, credible, independent information.”
ERCOT has already begun adjusting for realization risk internally. In its 2025 long-term load forecast report, the grid operator said the “average peak consumption per site was 49.8% of the requested MW” and applied that factor to projected non-crypto data center load additions in some planning models.
ERCOT President and CEO Pablo Vegas said the forecast reflects “higher-than-expected future load growth” tied to changing large-load planning dynamics.
Texas has emerged as a hotspot for data center growth, with numerous new projects reshaping the energy market and challenging grid capacity. (Image: Alamy)
Texas Developers Race Ahead of Grid Capacity
Texas has emerged as a key data center market, driven by its abundant land, competitive energy prices, and favorable regulatory environment. This combination has positioned the state as a magnet for hyperscale operators and AI infrastructure investments. The state is estimated to account for around 15% of all data center connectivity in the US.
Recent and proposed AI data center campuses tied to OpenAI, Oracle, Meta, Crusoe, CoreWeave, Soluna, and other hyperscale operators are reshaping Texas grid planning. Developers have proposed large campuses across North Texas, Abilene, West Texas, and the Houston corridor, many requiring hundreds of megawatts of capacity and, in some cases, dedicated onsite generation to bypass interconnection delays. That buildout pushed ERCOT’s non-crypto data center forecast above 228 GW by 2032.
Developers are continuing to pursue Texas aggressively because ERCOT still offers faster timelines and more flexible market structures than many competing regions. Several proposed campuses pair AI infrastructure with onsite gas generation, colocated power assets, or flexible-load arrangements to navigate mounting transmission constraints.
Utilities across the US are grappling with AI-driven electricity growth, but ERCOT’s projections stand apart for both scale and uncertainty. PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest grid operator, expects summer peak demand to climb above 241 GW over the next 15 years as data centers and electrification expand. ERCOT, by contrast, projects demand potentially reaching nearly 368 GW by 2032, driven largely by proposed non-crypto data center loads. At the same time, the grid operator openly questions how much of that demand will materialize on schedule.
Bigger Than Texas
Similar pressures are emerging elsewhere. In California, CAISO’s latest transmission plan cited “data center load growth” as a driver of major grid upgrades and described interconnection volumes as “unmanageable” before recent queue reforms.
A recent Grid Strategies report reached a similar conclusion nationally, warning that the “data center portion of utility load forecasts is likely overstated by roughly 25 GW” compared with market-based deployment estimates.
Ihab Osman, an independent strategist specializing in data center and other mission-critical infrastructure, said the distinction is less about “real” versus “fake” AI demand and more about “announced versus deliverable demand.”
“A large share of the current AI/data center planned load should be treated as paper megawatts until it is validated through physical gates,” Osman said, citing factors including site control, transmission deliverability, generation availability, turbine and transformer supply, permitting, financing, and credible energization schedules.
Osman said ERCOT’s forecast is best understood as “a stress-test map, not as a fait accompli build map.”
Separating ’Paper Megawatts’ From Real Demand
The filing shows Texas regulators and grid planners struggling to distinguish operating AI infrastructure from a rapidly expanding pipeline of proposed projects.
“The vast majority” of ERCOT’s projected load growth comes from submissions provided by transmission and distribution utilities, according to the filing. Those requests include hyperscale AI campuses, GPU clusters, and other large industrial loads seeking future grid capacity reservations.
Alison Silverstein, a former senior adviser to the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said “a large proportion” of projects in ERCOT’s large-load interconnection queue have already been canceled, particularly among smaller developers facing long interconnection delays and high turbine and transformer costs.
Forecasts Collide With Physical Infrastructure Limits
ERCOT has also signaled that many projects may not materialize on the timelines shaping transmission planning.
The grid operator said summer 2026 peak demand is likely to land between roughly 90.5 GW and 98 GW – far below the preliminary 112 GW figure embedded in the long-term forecast. ERCOT said it appears “unlikely” that new large-load projects and existing site expansions will ramp quickly enough to push demand that high this year.
The filing suggests uncertainty around AI-related load growth is beginning to influence broader infrastructure planning assumptions. By 2032, ERCOT projects non-crypto data centers reaching 228 GW of demand, compared with just 9 GW from cryptocurrency mining and roughly 3 GW each from hydrogen/e-fuels and oil-and-gas-related industrial growth.
The move also suggests the regulator is no longer simply forecasting AI-driven growth, but also working to determine how much of the proposed boom can actually be financed, supplied, interconnected, and energized before utilities commit billions to long-lived infrastructure.
AUSTIN, Texas — Bravo is developing a new reality series set in the Texas Hill Country, the network announced on Instagram Monday.
“Secrets, Lies, Texas Wives” would follow a group of women in Boerne.
According to the network’s description, the series centers on “a tight-knit circle of glamorous women” navigating family life, ranching, and social obligations in a community rooted in rodeo and tradition. They promise drama with “forbidden romances” and relationship angst.
No premiere date or cast have been announced.
If picked up, the series would join Bravo’s long-running portfolio of region-specific reality franchises, which includes the “Real Housewives” lineup.
AUSTIN, Texas — With the average price of a gallon of gas in Texas topping $4, some leaders from Austin to Washington, D.C., are backing a temporary pause on gas taxes as a way to deliver relief.
Veronica Valdez Rodriguez was pumping gas at a southeast Austin station on Tuesday. She said the rising costs are becoming unmanageable.
“They’re sky high,” Rodriguez said. “I can barely get by, you know? It’s too expensive.”
She said she is spending $40 more every week on gas.
According to AAA Texas, the average cost of a regular gallon of fuel stood at over $4.01 in the Austin area on Tuesday, $1.24 higher than the average one year ago.
President Donald Trump said he is working to pause the federal gas tax, which is 18 cents per gallon.
A reporter asked the president on Monday how long the tax would be suspended.
“Until it’s appropriate. It’s a small percentage, but it’s, you know, it’s still money,” Trump said.
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KEYE
In Texas, an 18-cent-per-gallon pause could add up to savings of about $2 to $3 on an average tank of gas.
Support for a federal pause is coming from both parties. State Rep. and U.S. Senate nominee James Talarico (D-Austin) backed the idea last month.
“Lowering prices at the pump should be a bipartisan commitment,” Talarico said in a statement Monday.
Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn said he didn’t know the details of the president’s plan.
“There’s a difference between a temporary suspension and a permanent suspension,” Cornyn said Monday. “I don’t know exactly what the President has in mind. I think a temporary suspension getting through this sort of bumpy time because of uncertainty about energy prices, I can live with that.”
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa is calling for a state gas tax pause as well. The state tax currently sits at 20 cents per gallon, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
The state pause is also being urged by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, who has called on Governor Greg Abbott to act.
“Governors in Indiana, Georgia, and Utah have already stepped up to provide relief for their citizens, and I once again renew my call for Governor Abbott to follow the lead of President Trump and act decisively for Texas families,” Miller wrote on Monday.
The governor’s office, however, said a state gas tax pause is not an option under his executive authority.
In a statement, the governor’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, wrote in response to Miller:
There’s a reason Sid Miller lost his election, it’s because he doesn’t shoot straight with Texans. Any suggestion that the Texas governor is authorized by law to suspend a gas tax is entirely uninformed or purposefully misleading. If the Texas governor could suspend taxes, he would have suspended the property tax years ago.
At the federal level, the Bipartisan Policy Center said a gas tax holiday would require an act of Congress. The group also estimated that a five-month pause could cost as much as $17 billion.
Some drivers, like Rodriguez, said any break would help.
“Pause the taxes!” she said.
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