Mike Elko predicts College Football Playoff will see matchups against SEC teams

The SEC is always well-represented at the College World Series as the conference has won five straight national titles. Not only that, but the past four CWS Finals have been played between eight programs that are all currently in the SEC.

Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko expects the league to also be well-represented in the new-look College Football Playoff. The playoff is expanding from four teams to 12 in 2024.

Elko said at SEC Media Days on Thursday that he wouldn’t be surprised at all to see semifinals and finals games being played between two SEC teams.

“I think if you look at the College World Series as a model, more access has led to a lot more all-SEC semifinals, all-SEC championships. I believe you’re going to see something very similar in the College Football Playoff,” Mike Elko said. “I think the more teams from this conference that get in and get to compete in meaningful games on a national scale, I think it’ll only help us enhance our reputation as the premiere league in the country.”

The SEC has also won four of the past national titles in football and had won four straight before Michigan ended that streak this past season.

Elko believes that the old playoff being limited to four teams hurt the SEC. He believes the CFP expanding will be very beneficial for the league.

“I think spending four years in this conference, there were a lot of years where I felt like there were more teams deserving of being in the playoff,” Elko said. “I felt like at times, certainly for us in 2020, I feel like this conference has clearly established itself to be the premier conference and now what you have is more access.”

Mike Elko states it is ‘very clear’ what Texas A&M fans think of Texas

One of the best rivalries in the SEC this season should be Texas vs. Texas A&M.

The Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry was one of the best in college football before the Aggies left for the SEC after the 2011 season. The two teams have not played since, but that will change this year with the Longhorns joining the SEC. Aggies coach Mike Elko was asked at SEC Media Days for his thoughts about the rivalry with Texas.

Elko previously spent four years at Texas A&M, and even though his squad wasn’t facing the Longhorns at the time, he is still well aware of how important the rivalry is.

“I was here for four years and we didn’t play Texas at all. And it was very clear to me what our fans and our alumni thought of the University,” Mike Elko said. “Now that we’re playing and we’re in the same conference again, that’s something that means an awful lot to Texas A&M people. So it means a lot to our program.”