Mike Elko says exactly what Texas A&M fans are thinking following College Football Playoff loss and offers hope for future

Texas A&M may have lost to Miami, but this team took the program to new heights in 2025 and could still compete for a championship soon

Travis May — College Football Managing Editor
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The Texas A&M Aggies season didn’t end exactly how Mike Elko, quarterback Marcel Reed, or any of the other players and fans had hoped as the team lost 10-3 to the Miami Hurricanes on Saturday. However, all hope is not lost.

Mike Elko clearly wasn’t excited about how the game went in his postgame press conference, but he did say exactly what many Aggies fans might be thinking right now following a promising 11-2 season with a College Football Playoff appearance.

Mike Elko offers hopeful message to seniors and returning Texas A&M players

Yes, it was frustrating that the Aggies lost to the Texas Longhorns to end the regular season. Yes, losing 10-3 (mustering just three points in a playoff game) is unbelievably disappointing to Miami. However, Mike Elko made sure to remind fans that they should be proud of this season’s team and what they’ve accomplished for the Texas A&M program:

“To the seniors who just played their last game, they left a mark on the elevating this program that will never go away. From where this program was two years ago to where it is now, I don’t think that cane be lost on people. I think it’s made massive strides. To the guys coming back, there’s still another major step we have to take as a program to finish. I think the last two games showed that. It’s a rallying cry to the guys that are still here and still have time to play, but I don’t think we can turn our back on the guys who just finished their careers — everything they accomplished, and everything they did for Texas A&M football.”

There’s still a ton of work to be done for the Texas A&M players who will be returning for next year. Giving up seven sacks, scoring just three points, and constantly losing the battle at the line of scrimmage in a playoff game proves the Aggies still have their work cut out for them, but this year’s team has leveled up Texas A&M football. It’s sad that star players who helped make it happen like running back Le’Veon Moss (who re-aggravated an injury in the Miami loss) won’t be able to participate in the potential bright future still to come.

Mike Elko believes Texas A&M took critical step in completing College Football Playoff quest

Mike Elko continued with his hopeful outlook later in the postgame press conference, giving a somewhat surprisingly candid answer about his team learning from their College Football Playoff experience this season:

“Yes, I think in order to ultimately complete the playoff quest, you’ve got to first get in. You’ve got to learn what it’s all about, and then you’ve got to get good enough to win games in the playoffs.”

It’s not impossible for teams to immediately win a championship after making the playoff (like Kirby Smart’s Georgia and Joe Burrow LSU), but coach Elko has a point here. This has been historically true in many cases. Teams quite often rise up into the College Football Playoff, but struggle to initially win it all once they do. This was true for Ryan Day’s Ohio State, Michigan under Jim Harbaugh, Clemson with Dabo Swinney, and even early Nick Saban teams when the College Football Playoff was just beginning. This year was just Texas A&M getting their feet wet. If they can indeed learn from this experience and take another significant step forward next season with their young core of playmakers, then coach Elko might have his team competing for a championship as soon as next season.

We’ll be back with more Texas A&M Aggies coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

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