For two 11-1 teams, a 25-spot difference in strength of schedule would seem to be a deciding factor. But for the CFP committee, it wasn’t. As per one ESPN analyst, this created a ‘serious problem’ for Mike Elko’s Texas A&M Aggies.

“I have more of a problem at the top,” said Stanford Steve on the Dec. 7 episode of ESPN’s SVPod. “The idea that Ole Miss is ranked higher than A&M is something I have a serious problem with. When you look at resumes, at the strength of record or the strength of schedule, Ole Miss was in the 40s. Also, if there’s ever a way to tweak it, you got a rematch in Oxford; just make A&M six, they’re more deserving in my opinion, and then make Ole Miss seven, and it’s good.”

If you compare the strength of schedule of both teams, Mike Elko’s Texas A&M sits at No. 16, while Ole Miss resides at No. 41. It’s undeniable that the Aggies played the tougher opponents compared to the Rebels. Both Texas A&M and Ole Miss finished their regular season with one loss, and in both cases, they lost to a ranked SEC opponent. The Rebels can argue that Georgia was a better loss compared to Texas. However, a counterargument is that A&M still has its head coach. 

The Ole Miss-Texas A&M situation created unnecessary rematches in the bowls. No. 6 Ole Miss will now face No. 11 Tulane in the first round of the playoff games, marking a rematch of their September game in Oxford.

The Rebels played Tulane on Sep. 21 and went on to pull out a 45-10 win over the American Conference champions. If Ole Miss can post a win over the Green Wave in the first round, they will face No. 3 Georgia, which is again a rematch of the October game, where the Bulldogs defeated the Rebels by 43-35. Meanwhile, the Aggies will host No. 10 Miami in the first round, and the winner will face No. 2 Ohio State in the quarterfinals. 

While analysts debate the fairness of the ranking, the man at its center, Mike Elko, is taking a decidedly different approach.

Mike Elko’s response to CFP rankings

Mike Elko, hours after the CFP bracket was released, addressed the media multiple times. Elko revealed that the Aggies are happy to enter the Playoffs for the second season. While asked about earning a No. 7 spot in the bracket, the head coach took it positively and shared his excitement to host Miami in Kyle Field.

“It (No. 7 seed) is more their decision, so great,” Mike Elko said. “Not really paying much attention on the next one. Really just focused on the opportunity to play Miami. We were excited to see our name. We had a pretty good feel for the group of teams (the opponent) that was going to be. We were in prep mode for that. It was a really cool moment to see Texas A&M pop up there at No. 7.”

The Aggies will now face the Hurricanes on Dec. 20 in the afternoon slot at Kyle Field.