Texas A&M under Mike Elko BETTER than you expect in 2024. Schedule helps l College Football Podcast

Texas A&M might just be better than you think or better than many of you want them to be Andrew stfc of locked on Texas A&M is here to talk about that very fact here on the show and look Texas A&M is the poster child Andrew for you recruit at a high level and underachieve and I think that makes a lot of people resent the agies in the program that they have and they can't do it and their frauds and their blah blah blah but they've got a head coach in there who wanted a place where it's not easy to win Manny Diaz could win it Duke it's not going to be this year I don't even know if it'll be next year it's going to take a minute but Mike Elko did a heck of a job there doing more with less now he has a good roster and yeah there are some games I think Texas A&M is definitely going to lose but one of the reasons I think they are better than than people might realize this year or putting them in a preseason top 25 is not actually crazy and not the usual Texas A&M hype is the Mike Elco Factor here's the deal when you look at Texas ANM and you look at head coach Mike Elco you know the way I break this down is like you said Spencer he was doing more with less now he's going to do more with more and when I look at Mike ELO X's and O's culture Player Development they're all there all there the question was is he gonna be able to recruit like Coach fiser and Company did previous well his recruiting class is sitting seventh eth where you look at different places for this year he's doing it all he's earned an a from me for what he's done so far as the head coach Tech Stadium he's done an incredible job in the transfer portal and now it's time to prove it on the grid iron and I'll tell you this people don't understand how good this team can be they've still got a lot of those really talented players when it comes to four and festar recruits out of high school and they did a really incredible job in the transfer portal and we're going to get into Spencer the schedule really works out nice for the aies this football team is going to overachieve this season and it's going to impress some people they have a win total according to our friends at FanDuel of8 and a half which is an upper tier SEC team I mean you've got nine and a half for some schools you got 10 and a half for Texas and Georgia Bama is n and a half Missouri and LSU are both at 9 and a half but uh the schedule gets off to a rough start although at home which is nice having the having the TW there at cyle field certainly helpful now this Notre Dame game just got a lot more interesting I have had this as a Notre Dame win in my mind going in because look week one game one even at home that's a lot even for a great coach like Mike Elco you've got year three for Marcus Freeman it's more established Riley Leonard a quarterback I think Notre Dame's really good then the news comes out that Notre Dame just lost their starting left tackle and I asked Tyler wojack of locked on Fighting Irish about that he said it's huge it might be the difference they lose this Texas A&M game I still like Notre Dame to go in and win but it is now going to be significantly tougher this is the equivalent of losing a starting wide receiver you're not going to see it show up in the Box Score but you're going to see it show up on the football field on both sides of the football or on on for both teams in that game which is funny because you talked about Texas stn being the the CEO of recruiting well and not performing well this is the bowl game of two teams that recruit well and it never works out this is the overhype preseason Cinderella bowl game and I'm very excited for it but um you know here's the deal losing your left tackle with the front that Texas A&M has that is not ideal this game is going to be one and lost with Texas A&M's defensive line going against the offensive line of Notre Dame which was already a question mark I heard before losing their projected starting left tackle and then you flip that Texas A&M's question mark is their offensive line and Notre Ames front seven and defensive line are aaked this football game is going to be one there and I'll tell you this I'm going to for prediction sake say that Notre Dame wins his football game but if I had to give you a percentage I'd go 5149 this game could go either way and Texas A&M can win this football game I wanted to use this as my coin flip game on Texas A&M schedule but I can only do that once per my own rules that I've set for myself in schedule predictions here on the show so I think Notre Dame wins week one but then Texas A&M I think he's going to start rattling off the wins MCN week two I think that's uh clearly a win at Florida and then three straight home games against Bowling Green Arkansas and Missouri I have them winning all those games and the next week in Starkville at Mississippi State I think the losses could pile up as the back half of the schedule really gets underway for the Aggies but the the most pivotal matchups in there at Florida week three that's a game they could absolutely lose Florida's not great but they're not bad Missouri is a game that because they're at home I like I think Missouri is solid but I also think Texas A&M is solid it's it's the Mike Elco factor for me and and Connor Wegman last time I talked about him here on the show I had a couple different people reach out and say hey you're under selling this guy like you you you don't know what you got here I'm like oh maybe maybe you know we got to see a little more but then you look at what he has done in his college career he's not starting for the first time if he clicks w w with this offense you could see Texas A&M get off to a really hot start I could see him losing a game at Florida in the swamp or hosting Missouri but I'm trusting Texas A&M here I think they're winning both of those games definitely a coin flip that game at Florida the swamp here's the deal before all Gator fans their hearts are on the floor from what's going to happen to them this season and not because Florida I thinks a terrible football team it's because look at that schedule I feel so sorry for worst in college football worst in college they've the fact that they have two of the top three odds teams in the ACC in their non-conference and the back half of their uh the back half of their SEC schedule is just disgusting just disgusting I'm so sorry for Florida fans like genuinely that is a genuine statement I am sorry I think techm wins that game the Arkansas game by the way it's um that's actually an AT&T Stadium it's it's neutral um it's okay okay um I still I don't that doesn't change my that game could be home Road neutal you could play that game in Ireland I'd feel the same way about it like I don't care one bit Arkansas feels like a team that is going to kind of bottom out make a change at head coach and it'll be a mutual parting of ways perhaps but the Missouri game how are you feeling so you know I think that we're going to I'm not fully in on Missouri but I have a swing game that Texas m is going to win that is not the Missouri game I think I am three4 the way buying the Missouri hype not fully three4 of the way I'm a big veteran quarterback guy a huge veteran quarterback guy and Brady cook is the CEO of game managing and it gets the job done I also think no one in college football can stop Luther Burton I tell you that right now I think he's a menace I think he's a great player I think I'm I have a swing game that I'm gonna tell yall that Texas AUM wins that I don't think many are going to expect but it's not going to be Missouri I I think that Missouri takes care of business in this game in a close close football game okay at Mississippi State I think we agree that's going to be a win Bulldogs are going to be in for a rough year LSU even at home I I like the Tigers in that one I think that is loss number two for Texas A&M next two games I think are wins at South Carolina and hosting New Mexico State no issues uh for me that I mean don't sleep on going to South Carolina by the way I've got an upset in the SEC which is South Carolina beating Old Miss at home I won't be shocked if it ends up being this Texas A&M game instead I think they are going I think South Carolina is going to win a game in front of the home crowd that people don't necessarily expect or picking them to win it could be I think it's going to be Old Miss but I think it could be Texas A&M as well I wouldn't sleep on it I like sellers a lot actually he's one of my my guys this year like Dynamic quarterback I like him um so here's the deal here's where where I'm kind of going against chalk I think Tex beat LSU and I'll tell you why so so hear me out now I think that both the LSU and Missouri games g be really close I mean really close I just nus Meer I here's the deal I am a huge nus Meer guy I really am huge nire guy but we have we we've seen him play one football game I believe his upside is through the roof but so is Conor wigman so they are very similar in what we have and haven't seen out of those two quarterbacks I agree with that so it's at home I know LSU's made strides to improve that defense I know that and it's going to be better I know they they lost a lot of talent it's a tough road environment I I think with of a I know it's later in the season nesm will be a little bit more accustomed to playing in these environments but I'm still in the belief that a a Young quarterback who really hasn't played a lot is going to struggle walking into cyle field and I think the aies win that game okay all right valid valid point there should be a fun football game last two games of the year at Auburn I think that's a loss for Texas A&M a game they can win I think Jordan hair is tough and it's not so much a shot at Texas A&M but more a a credit to what Auburn has done this offseason I think they've done a nice job my tossup game here is Texas the last we that that line is three and a half according to our friends at FanDuel that is shorter than I expected it's going to be the most hostile crowd maybe in all of college football yes this season it's going to be a fantastic game I can't wait to watch it I I lean towards Texas yeah but I don't feel strong enough about it right now to make a pick so that's how I land on Texas A&M pending a coin flip game and there are a couple kind of coin flip games in there that I just feel a little bit stronger about I think that Texas game because of the Rivalry Factor can get absolutely Bonkers so I think Texas A&M is 9 and3 or 8-4 pending the outcome of that game in Mike ELO's first year I'm with you I'm with you on that so I am this in the same boat but I I think the aies lose to the Longhorns and it's funny I you hate to be the guy that's gonna sit here and talk good about your rival I think Texas is gonna be really good this year I and I and I there is nothing more in the world I would rather do right now than say the aies win this game not even a question there's nothing I'd rather say than that I think Texas is going to be really good and I think ELO is going to get him there to where they're taking down Texas consistently on you know really on a consistent basis I don't know if it's this year that Auburn game will make or break the season for Texas A&M J place it's gonna be a great football game I hate that Auburn's young guys are going to be settled in at that point they're a really young team really talented football team a lot of a lot of five stars a lot of great players that Hugh freeze um and Company bride in I and I've said it on Zach's show on Zack blackb lock on Auburn show multiple times I think Texas A&M wins this game but I think it's gonna be really really tight Andrew stanc locked on Texas STM your final record prediction for the aies in 2024 is I think the agies go nine and three nine and three I've got him nine and three or eight and four pending the toss up Andrew appreciate the time my man