Texas A&M Officially Earns Spot in College Football Playoff, First-Round Matchup Set

Texas A&M makes history -- and makes the College Football Playoff.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko on the field in the second half of a game against the Samford Bulldogs at Kyle Field. | Joseph Buvid-Imagn Images

The Texas A&M Aggies are officially in the College Football Playoff.

When the Aggies transitioned out of the coach Jimbo Fisher era and hired coach Mike Elko, many Ol’ Ags would be shocked to be in the position that Texas A&M has made it to. In just two seasons, Elko has proven that he was the right man for the job, leading the Aggies to their first College Football Playoff berth in the program’s history.

Texas A&M’s path to the National Championship sees the Aggies hosting the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes at Kyle Field, with a win meaning they would face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes in the second round.

Texas A&M’s First College Football Playoff Berth

A view of the college football playoff national championship trophy on the sidelines of a game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and Pittsburgh Panthers in the fourth quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The last time Texas A&M won a national championship in football, the world was immensely different. The world was joining together to thwart Nazi Germany and many college football-aged men skipped schooling to join the war. Texas A&M, a military-only institution at the time, saw a surge in enrollment and the Aggies took the 1939 National Championship after posting a perfect 11-0 record in the fabled Southwest Conference. Now looking to do it again, the road to a championship looks a little different than it did in 1939.

In 2020, it looked like the Aggies were on their way to their first College Football Playoff appearance. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, teams only played 10 games and the Aggies finished with an impressive 9-1 record, earning them a No. 4 spot on the final AP Poll. Still using the four-team playoff model, the Aggies were stuck on the outside looking in as the No. 5 team in the final College Football Playoff ranking.

Since moving to the 12-team playoff model, there have been coaches calling for some insight to the decision making process regarding seeding and who gets in, with Elko being one of the most vocal.

“I’ve said this all the way through this season, of what exactly is the criteria that we’re utilizing to break ties. I don’t know that anybody has a real firm understanding of what that actually is. So, for us to have a higher strength of schedule and a higher strength of record than a lot of the teams that share the same record as us, I don’t understand. Now, at the end of the day, we’ll put a ball down and we’ll go play and it’ll be what it’ll be,” Elko said during his Early National Signing Day press conference. “But it would be nice if there was a little bit of clarity in into the process of what exactly happened.”

With all the controversy surrounding the College Football Playoff selection process and tiebreakers, criteria, etc., Elko is just happy that his team has the opportunity to compete.

“As a football coach, put a ball down,” Elko said earlier in the week. “Let’s go play. It doesn’t matter. We’ll play anyone, anywhere. It is what it is. We’re going to be in the Playoff and we’re gonna go compete for a national championship.”

For Texas A&M’s home playoff game, tickets begin at $25 for students, $100 for non-students and range up to $375 for suites.

Student tickets for a potential home playoff game appear to be $25

If A&M hosts, tickets will be available for students starting Dec. 9 through Dec. 12 pic.twitter.com/lQxOiakl3T

— Barstool Texas A&M (@BarstoolTexasAM) December 2, 2025