Texas A&M's Mike Elko shared his thoughts on the long-running discussion over potential expansion of the College Football Playoff.
Discussion over the size of the College Football Playoff continues to dominate offseason discussion and Texas A&M's Mike Elko chimed in to the discourse.
Elko recently sat down with USA Today's Blake Toppmeyer ahead of the Aggies' 2026 campaign and the looming question over the number of teams in the CFP crept into the conversation.
The leader of the Aggies did not beat around on the bush when it came to his thoughts on the topic. He shared with Toppmeyer that he views an expanded postseason as a way for coaches to lock down their jobs.
“The head coach who wants to keep his job, (he'll say) the right size is 45 teams or however many we can possibly fit in it because (making the playoff) is becoming such a marker for the premier programs, which is, either you’re in, or you’re out. And if you’re out, you failed," Elko reportedly told Toppmeyer.
Some could point to the irony that Texas A&M's lone CFP berth came last season as a No. 7-seed, which would have had the Aggies on the outside looking in just a few years ago. However, he seems more passionate about maintaining the sanctity of the regular season than keeping potentially worthy teams out.
"You have to keep the regular season meaningful. We cannot turn this into college basketball. We’ll lose everything that college football has ever been about," Elko continued.
His point makes sense while also allowing room for discussion about how many teams should still earn a spot to compete for a national championship. Going back to the Aggies of last season, they went 11-1 in the regular season in an impressive showing start to finish.
If Texas A&M got left out after dropping a lone matchup, one could argue the regular season holds too much value and forces teams to be virtually perfect, which only one team fulfilled heading into the CFP last year.
“As a college football fan and maybe a little bit of a guy who has studied the game, you just want to be careful that we don’t get too big, too fast,” warned Elko.
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While the move to 12 teams has been relatively successful, it has opened the door to bringing more teams into the mix, which is exactly what Elko is rallying against. Striking the balance between worthiness and accessibility seems to the perfect middle ground in this debate, which unsurprisingly is backed by a coach that's been there before.
For Elko and Texas A&M, their goal is to compete for a national title year in and year out, whether it be two or 200 teams that get the chance to hoist the trophy at season's end. Following their remarkable season last year, the Aggies will look to make those expectations a reality once again.