Was Texas A&M ever as dominant as its record suggested? That question now hangs over College Station as two late losses dropped the Aggies to 11-2. It has reignited skepticism about whether Elko’s first-year squad was truly elite or simply the beneficiary of a favorable schedule.

“They beat Arkansas by one score,” On Texas Football’s analyst, Amanda Atwell, pointed out that many of Texas A&M’s wins came by razor-thin margins on the December 22nd episode of the TexAgs podcast. 

“Yeah. What is that? 40,” TexAgs.com’s Billy Liucci came with soft pushback. 

“They beat Auburn by one score.” Atwell continued.

The exchange creates a contrast between results and perception. Atwell focused on the margins. Close wins over the Arkansas Razorbacks (42-45), the Auburn Tigers (16-10), and the South Carolina Gamecocks (31-30). That’s how Elko’s squad lived all season — dangerously. 

Elko and his boys rolled into Kyle Field with the 12th Man behind them. They were chalked up as 3.5-point favorites, and still flopped. The offense couldn’t get out of neutral, sputtering like a busted engine. Just like that, the squad once pegged to ride into the SEC Championship and snag a first-round CFP bye ended up ghosting every expectation, closing the season with a bitter aftertaste.

A&M’s schedule was soft as butter. Their biggest win? Not even an SEC foe. It was the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in early September. After that, the highlight reel is slim: a 38-17 road win at the Missouri Tigers, a home nod over South Carolina. 

In reality, the Aggies notched just two ranked wins all season, Notre Dame and LSU Tigers, but only one victory over a team that finished in the Top 25 (Notre Dame).

Elko’s squad came in as the No. 7 seed, sitting a notch above Miami. The mission? Take down a Miami team stacked with first-round talent on the defensive line and a veteran quarterback with a 34-5 career ledger, shut up the doubters. And punch a ticket to a Cotton Bowl quarterfinal showdown with idle Ohio State Buckeyes. Instead, the script got flipped, and the dream crumbled.

Not just it, Elko and co. made records, not for good reasons, of course. With their lone points coming on a Randy Bond field goal in the fourth quarter, the Aggies became the first team in CFP first-round history to go touchdown-less. They had three trips into the red zone all afternoon and came away with points just once, thanks to Bond’s late kick.

The Aggies excelled in plenty of areas in 2025, but turnover margin? A disaster. Elko’s squad limped through the regular season at 113th in the nation with a minus-seven mark. Meanwhile, Miami ranked 12th with a plus-nine, one of the few bright spots for the Hurricanes and exactly why they pulled off such a shocking upset.

They couldn’t catch a break in the turnover battle, going minus two or worse in four of their last five games. Even worse, the Aggies were a combined minus eight over the final three games, a stark drop from the first six, where they managed plus one.

How is Elko dealing with things currently?

No sugarcoating from Mike Elko

Riding high on hype and a long stretch at No. 3, expectations for A&M were through the roof. But after the CFP heartbreak, Elko admits the Aggies aren’t quite a championship-ready squad, at least not yet.

“We were not an elite program ready to win a national championship when we took over,” said the head coach without mincing his words. “We’re still not. We’re working to become it. Clearly, these last two games have shown there are areas we have to continue to grow, but that’s what this is.”

Against Texas, Elko’s squad got steamrolled in the final two quarters, outgained 285-160, and dropped the turnover battle 2-0. The Aggies struggled to stop the run, giving up 218 yards on the ground, including a monster 155 from Wisner.

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Elko caught heat for a bold call against Miami. With A&M stalled in the red zone, he opted for a 22-yard field goal, trusting Jared Zirkel after Randy Bond’s shaky kicking all season. The result? Blocked, leaving the Aggies scoreless and the coach in the hot seat.

The fury aimed at Mike Elko and the Aggies spilled beyond the stands, and eggs started flying. That’s how, after cruising through a soft schedule, A&M still fumbled a golden opportunity they had on a silver platter.