$69 Million Head Coach Challenged Amid Struggles Against Steve Sarkisian

A college football coach at an SEC program has yet to overcome the hurdle of Steve Sarkisian as he enters his third season on the job.

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

In the long wait for college football, fans and media draw hypotheses on the matchups they find most intriguing in the next season.

Non-conference headliners such as Ohio State at Texas and Clemson at LSU naturally capture intrigue given how early they appear in the season. Less traditional conference matchups, such as Oklahoma at Georgia and Ohio State at Oregon, also stand out.

However, some of the best matchups in the 2026 season are those that have been around since the dawn of college football. One of these matchups is Texas at Texas A&M, a chance for Mike Elko to avenge the disappointment his team left Austin with a season ago.

Prior to accepting his first head coaching job, Elko worked his way up the college football coaching ladder as a defensive assistant for 23 seasons, ending the stretch with a four-year tenure as Texas A&M's defensive coordinator. Elko's first head coaching job was at Duke, where he posted a 16-9 overall record in two seasons on the job.

Texas A&M brought Elko back into the fold to replace Jimbo Fisher as head coach in 2024. The Aggies posted an 8-5 record during Elko's first season, a slight improvement from their 2023 finish. Texas A&M's 11-win regular season in 2025 was enough to put it in the College Football Playoff, a place it had never been before.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts to a call during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The progression from eight to 11 wins earned Elko the trust of Texas A&M fans heading into his third season. However, the common denominator from each of Elko's first two seasons on the job at Texas A&M is a loss to archrival Texas. Ari Wasserman of On3 highlighted Elko's struggles against the Longhorns in his preview of the 10 juiciest college football matchups of 2026.

While the series between the Longhorns and Aggies is touted as one of the greatest rivalries in college football, the overall record tells a different story. The Longhorns hold a 78-37-5 advantage with multiple prolonged winning streaks against the Aggies.

Even though it is not the result of a prolonged losing streak, the Aggies have not defeated the Longhorns since 2010. Texas had the last laugh (27-25) in Texas A&M's final game as a Big 12 member before its departure to the SEC. The two programs did not seek to renew their rivalry between the 2012 and 2023 seasons.

The Longhorns' move to the SEC in 2024 prompted the two to meet on the gridiron once more. The Aggies fell to the Longhorns (17-7) in front of a raucous crowd at Kyle Field; Texas scored all 17 of its points in the first half and did not surrender an offensive touchdown.

Texas A&M came into the 2025 installment with hopes of closing out the regular season undefeated. However, Arch Manning sealed the victory (27-17) for Texas with a 35-yard touchdown run in the middle of the fourth quarter.