Texas A&M football's undefeated season survived its biggest test of the year after Mike Elko's Aggies pulled off a jaw-dropping 31-30 comeback win against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Trailing 30-3 at halftime, the Aggies flipped the script behind their star quarterback Marcel Reed’s career night.
The rally not only preserved A&M’s perfect record at 10-0 (7-0 SEC) but also reinforced its position as a legitimate College Football Playoff threat.
Three days later, the CFP committee kept Texas A&M at No. 3, behind undefeated Indiana and Ohio State. But despite the ranking and an unblemished record, head coach Mike Elko believes the SEC still isn’t getting the national credit it deserves.
During Tuesday’s SEC teleconference, Elko laid out his frustration with how SEC teams are evaluated in the CFP formula, arguing the league’s brutal schedule should matter more.
“We have to figure out how to reward SEC teams for playing in the SEC. Because if we're not going to be rewarded for strength of schedule metrics and we're not going to be rewarded for strength of record, then it's going to become really, really challenging with us going to nine SEC games to figure out how the best teams are going to get into the playoffs.”
Elko added that SEC coaches have long voiced similar concerns. “The coaches have been pounding this drum. Nobody seems to be listening…I think it shows up at a lot of different spots within the rankings.”
He further pointed out that the league’s overall resume doesn’t seem to hold the same value as results from other conferences.
“I think there's a lot of different situations where people need to identify us being a 10-4 out of a conference record against Power Four in the SEC, some of the crossover SEC games and what they actually look like against some of these teams in the other conferences, and find a way to give our league and our conference more credit for the wins that we get.”
SEC Championship scenarios will define A&M’s path
The Aggies are nearly a lock for the College Football Playoff, but their path to the SEC Championship Game, however, is far less straightforward. With two weeks left, four teams, Texas A&M, Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama, remain alive for the SEC title, all sitting at one loss or fewer.
The formula for A&M is simple — win out. Their Week 13 matchup against Samford doesn’t affect SEC standings, meaning the showdown at Texas in Week 14 will decide everything.
Beat the Longhorns, and the Aggies are in, but lose, and A&M would need both Alabama and Ole Miss to fall in the final week.
