Texas A&M's Mike Elko Favors SEC Teams in Updated Playoff Format

Last season, two of the top four teams came from the SEC. The conference also had 79 players drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft, setting a new record for the most players from a single conference in a single draft.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko during warm ups before Auburn Tigers take on Texas A&M Aggies at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Sept. 7, 2024. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Year two of the new 12-team College Football Playoff era kicks off in just a couple of months.

Starting in 2025, the four highest-ranked teams at the end of the regular season—not conference champions anymore—will earn the top four seeds and a first-round bye in the playoff.

Under the new format, teams ranked 5–12 will play in the opening round, with matchups as follows: 5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, and 8 vs. 9.

Looking at the depth and talent in the conference, we could see the majority of those top-four ranked teams come from the SEC.

Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko, left, shakes hands with Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian after the game. The Longhorns defeated the Aggies 17-7. at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Last season, two of the top four teams were from the SEC, and in the past decade, at least one SEC program has finished top four every year. In four of those seasons, two SEC teams held top-four spots.

The adjustment to the playoff format was a hot topic among coaches, including Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko.

“When you are in this league and you go through the grinder of what this league really is, it’s hard to say this isn’t the most talented conference in the country,” Elko said in a recent interview. “It bears itself out every single year in the NFL Draft.”

In the 2025 NFL Draft, the SEC had 79 players selected, setting a new record for the most players from a single conference in a single draft.

That amount of NFL talent is what makes the SEC so tough.

Last season, A&M went 8–4, with three of its losses coming in conference play. Those three opponents went on to have a combined 20 players drafted.

“The committee has had a tough job trying to figure out some of those things when you are just looking at resumes,” Elko spoke. “I don’t know what the solution is but it's a big puzzle that needs to be put together.”

The schedule for A&M this upcoming season is no joke. The Aggies’ 2025 schedule features matchups with multiple nationally ranked teams, including Florida, LSU, South Carolina, and Texas.

“It’s hard to measure what it’s like going through an 8 or 9 SEC game schedule,” Elko added. “The losses that get accumulated and how that all plays out.”

Texas A&M’s road to the playoff begins on August 30, when it hosts UTSA at Kyle Field.