SEC Mike believes win in South Bend proves Texas A&M is 'capable'

Key notes from Michael Bratton interview

• This legitimately might be the biggest win Texas A&M has had since the two Alabama wins in the SEC. This could be the turning point for Mike Elko and this football team. There is a lot of season left to play, but this is a great step toward them killing the 8-4 narrative. I said if they won this game, they would be a College Football Playoff team. Now, you need to take care of business at home and split the remaining four road games with Texas, LSU, Missouri and Arkansas. A&M is capable. If they can do that, or do even better, they are a College Football Playoff team.
   
• The only thing I can complain about is that I wish A&M were still playing this week. They are hot right now, but they get a bye. I’m not a big fan of the bye.
   
• Auburn is playing a very physical Oklahoma team, so maybe you can slice it as an advantage.
   
• It was an emotional win, so maybe it is good the Aggies aren’t playing coming off of that. Maybe Auburn will be a little banged up, but I like my team playing when they are hot.
   
• A&M has not reached the ceiling of its potential. Especially on defense, they can play a lot better, and under Elko, I expect them to improve.
   
• Marcel Reed is moving up my quarterback rankings list. Even though I picked A&M to win the game, I did not have confidence that he would be able to score on that fourth-and-goal. I had seen that story happen before, but Elko is ripping up that notion.
   
• I really want to see the Aggies improve against the run. Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love had good games on the ground. Those big-time road games ahead are tough. Missouri has a good run game, but LSU hasn’t run it very well. You need to win against Auburn, or else the juice from this win goes away. Auburn has 10 rushing touchdowns this season. We will learn a lot more about Auburn this weekend. Jackson Arnold has made their offense very dynamic with his rushing. A&M needs to get that cleaned up. Cashius Howell has emerged as a top defender in the SEC. I love the fact that Elko is throwing chairs over here in pursuit of correcting the issues on defense.
   
• I picked Vanderbilt to win last week, not to blow them out, though. It was a dominant performance. Give a lot of credit to Clark Lea and that coaching staff. They may be the most underrated staff in the SEC. Diego Pavia is playing really well, too. They would've had a better team quicker, but they didn’t have the NIL and had to recruit. This is a reboot for Vanderbilt. This is a legitimate team. It wouldn't stun me if they go 8-4 or better. The style of offense they play and how well the defense has played have been really impressive.
   
• As a Tennessee grad, it hurts. This was the best the Vols have looked against a Kirby Smart defense, but they still couldn't get it done. Now that their offense is cooking, their defense is falling apart. Joey “Swaguilar” looks like a million bucks. When Josh Heupel has a good quarterback, they move the ball down the field.
   
• I think we learned a lot about Tennessee. I am not a big fan of moral victories, but I moved Tennessee up in my rankings after this game. They proved that they can play with anyone in the SEC.
   
• For Georgia and Gunner Stockton, we learned a lot about him. Tennessee forced Georgia to win with Stockton, and he did it. He played really well on the road. They don’t have many challenging games on the road left, except maybe Auburn. I think Georgia is the team to beat in the SEC right now.
   
• Oklahoma fans are uber confident. If you say it is going to be a competitive game with Auburn this week, Sooner fans get offended by that. John Mateer has been better than advertised. He has looked great. One concern I have for Oklahoma is its offensive line. They are banged up, and it is still a work in progress. They are playing a lot of young talent. They haven’t faced a conference opponent. I think Michigan has a good defense, and Oklahoma passed that test. Still, it is a different story playing Auburn. I think it will be a low-scoring game that Oklahoma will win at home. No one will be more motivated to win this game than Arnold. One of these teams will get exposed on Saturday, but I do think it will be a really close game.
   
• Florida’s performance on the field was comical. They could have beaten LSU, but they had five interceptions. Miami is a top-five team. Carson Beck looks like a million bucks, but I don’t think there is much of a difference between Florida and Miami, except for the mistakes. The Gators have a real shot to beat Miami.
   
• Florida has only given up two touchdowns via their defense in the first three weeks of the season. They have a really good defense, but they are killing themselves. They’ve had four touchdowns taken back due to penalties. Jaden Baugh, their running back, is a really good running back that they need to rely on more. DJ Lagway had over 40 pass attempts last week. Don’t ask him to do that again, especially when he is making mistakes.
   
• I also don't have a lot of belief in Mario Cristobal as a head coach, either. These are like two of the worst head coaches going head-to-head. Give me Billy Napier to save his job at least for a week.
   
• Ole Miss has invested heavily in Austin Simmons. He played really well in Week 1, but ever since then, he has been fading. In the Kentucky game, I don’t think you can win a lot of conference games with Simmons. I have Ole Miss winning big this week against Tulane, but if Trinidad Chambliss plays well, will we have a quarterback controversy on our hands?
   
• Last week, I had Arkansas predicted to win the game against a backup quarterback. I really like Taylen Green. The offense looked good. The defense was awful for Arkansas. They forced Chambliss to beat them, and he did. Chambliss looked really good. It was a great coaching job by Lane Kiffin. I think it continues for another week.