Mike Elko’s Texas A&M Aggies may be 10-0 and cruising toward their first-ever SEC title shot. However, don’t let the record fool you. November 15th’s tight escape against the South Carolina Gamecocks just exposed the truth. Elko and co.’s SEC record is shiny on the outside, but hollow on the inside. Here came an analyst with a proof ready in his hand. 

On November 15th, Barstool Sports analyst Brandon Walker tweeted a screenshot of the current SEC rankings. The caption read, “Maybe we should’ve done a better job of noticing that all of Texas A&M’s SEC opponents were below this line.” The top eight teams are Elko’s Texas A&M, followed by Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Texas, Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. After the Vols, the analyst has drawn a yellow line. 

Texas A&M’s résumé looks spotless at first glance, but digging deeper tells a different story. Every SEC win has come against teams sitting on the other side of the standings, squads with losing or middling records who aren’t exactly lighting up the league. So, Elko’s boys’ undefeated run is real, but it’s been built entirely on bottom-tier opponents.

They have not played Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas, or even a surprisingly strong Vanderbilt. For instance, Crimson Tide is at 6-0, the Bulldogs at 6-1. Instead, Elko and his boys showed their strength against weaker teams such as Mississippi State (1-5), South Carolina (1-6), Auburn (1-6), and LSU (2-4), among others. On paper, the Aggies are a perfect powerhouse. In reality, they haven’t met real SEC muscle. While it helped them to sail through smoothly this far, luck might not prevail for Elko’s squad in the playoffs. 

If A&M reaches the playoff on this inflated profile, the step up in competition could hit them like a freight train. Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, and Alabama are built for January football, a level A&M hasn’t had to deal with yet. The fact that they are standing on quicksand became more prominent after their latest face-off against South Carolina. 

A&M had to mount a miracle rally just to survive a 3-6 team that limped into Kyle Field with one lonely SEC win. The Aggies crawled to 2.2 yards per carry. Not just this. Their quarterback, Marcel Reed, was tossing ugly throws. Plus, a roster that costs more than some pro teams looked helpless on defense. Not to forget that all this toil came against a squad whose only SEC victim was a broken Kentucky team. Even with that SEC red flag, the hype machine rolls on as analysts keep boosting A&M. Meanwhile, Elko is trending toward a headline-worthy extension.

Board of Regents Agenda signals a big-money move in favor of Mike Elko

Being an Ohio State Buckeyes alum himself, Kirk Herbstreit puts Texas A&M at par with Ryan Day’s squad. “I would probably give Ohio State and A&M as we sit here November 10th. We’ll obviously look back at this, but I think those would be the two teams. And I’d probably give Ohio State because of the firepower,” said the College GameDay host. However, after Walker’s reality check, Herbstreit might have to consider looking back at Elko and his program.

In the meantime, the Aggies inch one step closer to honoring Elko with a million-dollar deal after a historic 10-0 start. On November 13, AgKnocks tweeted a screenshot of the agendas discussed at the latest Board of Regents meeting. Taking a look at the Texas A&M University, there lay a highlighted 7.17 section.

It read, “Authorization for the President to Negotiate and Execute Certain Specified Contracts Involving Consideration of $500,000 or More, Texas A&M.” Going by the hush-hush, the new deal, which runs from 2026 through 2031, will average more than $11 million per season.

As per USA Today’s current head coach salaries rankings, Mike Elko stands at No.32, receiving a salary of $7,000,000. If Texas A&M signs an extension, it would push him to become one of the five highest-paid coaches in college football. Let’s see how soon Elko cracks the deal.