SEC Mike remains 'high' on what is to come for Texas A&M

After an 8-4 regular season, Texas A&M awaits their bowl game destiny, which will be released on Sunday following conference championship weekend. Host of That SEC Podcast, Michael Bratton joined TexAgs Live to offer some thoughts on the 2024 college football season. 

Key notes from Michael Bratton interview

• Your audience probably won't like this, but this season feels like a lost opportunity. Three or four weeks ago, the Aggies looked like a lock for the College Football Playoff and the SEC Championship game. They let it slip through their fingers. 
   
• Texas A&M is rising under Mike Elko, but twelve or thirteen other SEC programs are working just as hard as Texas A&M. You never know when you will lead the SEC heading into November again. 
   
• People argue that the Texas game is an indictment of the two programs. People will talk about Texas making the title game in year one in the league, but they are in year four under Steve Sarkisian, and the Aggies are in year one under Elko. Elko is a lot further along than Sarkisian was in year one. 
   
• The future is bright. Texas A&M will be firmly in the top five teams contending for the SEC and playoffs next year. 
   
• I imagine Texas A&M will be pretty active in the transfer portal. They flipped the switch on some marquee guys down the stretch. This signing class is a solid foundational class. It has solid depth at every position. 
   
• We could make injury excuses for any team, but without Le'Veon Moss' injury, Texas A&M's season probably would have ended differently. 
   
• The most disappointing thing about A&M was the defense late in the season. I don't understand how Auburn gets up on them 21-0. I don't understand how they gave up 44 points to South Carolina. You don't expect that from a Mike Elko defense. A&M has to be more consistent on defense next season. 
   
• The offense projects to be much better in year two of Collin Klein and Marcel Reed. That is why I am so high on Texas A&M. 
   
• It is so hard to know what to do in recruiting and the transfer portal. We are all experiencing this for the first time. The best example is Lane Kiffin, who goes by the “Portal King”. He said the numbers for the guys they are looking at in the portal are astronomical, and they have pivoted to more high school recruiting. It is a moving target. The recruiting strategy has been described to me as trying to land a plane while building it. 
   
• I have called out Hugh Freeze and Brian Kelly for complaining about the money being thrown around while they are making over 100 million dollars. You can go coach high school football. The rest of the teams trying to get to the top are spending money. That is just a part of it now.
   
• I like Texas tomorrow. Their defense is undeniable at this point. Georgia seems to be limping into this game. Lane Kiffin made the idiotic comment about not wanting to make the SEC Championship. He will probably never have to worry about that. He said he was talking to other coaches, and he is pretty close to Kirby Smart. If Georgia had their way, they could use a bye week this week. They are banged up. 
   
• Georgia dominated them in Austin, which motivates Texas and tells them what areas they need to improve. Kelvin Banks Jr. went down against Texas A&M, and I didn't even notice a drop-off. I am not sure if he is going to play this week. Texas is so good on both lines of scrimmage right now that it is hard to pick against them.
   
• I don't think you're wrong in saying that Texas hasn't faced a real offense. I am not sure Georgia is a real offense. They are not elite in any category. Carson Beck has been playing well the last three weeks. He has eleven touchdowns and zero interceptions in the last three weeks. How much time he has in this game will be key. I don't see Georgia as a national championship contender. 
   
• If Georgia beats Texas, Texas will be fortunate that other SEC teams shot themselves in the foot. If Alabama and Ole Miss hadn't picked up their third losses, Texas might not be a lock for the playoff. They are a lock now because of those losses. It is fair to question their resume. If Texas can go into Kyle Field and Georgia's backyard and go 2-0, they can win the national championship. 
   
• I think Alabama gets in. If SMU wins, Alabama is a lock. If Clemson wins, then Clemson is in and it will come down to SMU and Alabama. The ACC will be as mad as they can be in that situation because I think Alabama would get in. The Big Ten is getting four, so the SEC has to get four, too. Those two conferences are driving this whole thing. They will put Alabama in, even though I don't think they deserve it.
   
• I still watch the bowl games. The final results are kind of irrelevant. I like watching the young players. However, the results are not a true indicator of anything because of all the opt-outs. It is the last college football we get to see for a long time. 
   
• The scenario for Tennessee winning the national championship involves Nico Iamaleava and his wide receivers consistently finding a connection and hitting deep passes. They are really good on defense and running the football. They should have destroyed Alabama. They left three or four touchdowns on the table.
   
• If Boise State loses, they would be out and UNLV would be in. For some reason, that is the system that we have. Boise State is on the line of not making the playoff and getting a first-round bye. It is nonsensical. Maybe Boise State is elite, but I don't think they deserve a bye over some of these Big Ten and SEC teams. 
   
• I don't care about conference championships. If you want to put them in, that's fine. The rankings should do the seeding. If that means four SEC teams get a bye, then that is what it means. How often are we going to have that? We will not see that very often. I am not a fan of the automatic byes. The No. 5 seed is a better draw than the No. 1 seed. How foolish is this?
   
• I don't think we will see Bill Belichick coaching college football. I don't see that.
   
• The further Texas goes, the more resources Texas A&M will use to surround Marcel Reed with talent out of the transfer portal. Ohio State spent a lot of money after Michigan won it all last year. 
   
• I am a believer in Marcel Reed from what I have seen. He fits the offense better than Conner Weigman. That was evident. Weigman looked like a Heisman candidate against Missouri. I would love to see that from Reed because then he would be the complete package with his arm. In year one, he showed a lot being sprung into action. He will have a whole offseason in the offense.
   
• I am still a big fan of Collin Klein. It is hard to judge the offense after they lost so many pieces. When they were running the ball, they looked unstoppable. They got away from that. Getting back to that is exactly what Mike Elko wants to do. If the Aggies get back to doing that, they could win the SEC next year.