Mike Elko finished his first season at Texas A&M with an 8-5 record. Certain changes have grabbed eyeballs since; a new QB1 at the line of scrimmage, key transfers and a staggering $2.5 million financial package to land wideout KC Conception from NC State. But, after these additions, can Elko’s Texas Aggies make it to the college playoffs?Analyst Tom Fornelli had a candid conversation on the CBS Sports’ interview segment on Wednesday and gave a blunt take on Mike Elko’s program and its equation in the upcoming playoffs.”I think going on the road at Notre Dame is going to be difficult,” Fornelli said (9:23 onwards). “Going on the road for LSU and Texas will be difficult. But outside of that, I see the Aggies winning these games and taking a big step forward in the year two under Mike Elko and now nine and three probably not good enough to get into the college football playoff.””But it will have them in the conversation late into the season, and that would be a big step forward, and really kind of build momentum and hype going into year three under Elko in 2026.Fornelli thinks the Aggies will have a robust offense such that the defense can go about it with a decent play-call.Analyst shares hot take on Mike Elko’s CFP oddsAnalyst Tom Fornelli might have complimented Mike Elko’s offence, but another analyst, RJ Young, gave a reality check on Elko’s program making it to the upcoming college championship, amid high competition within the SEC conference.”You’re talking about trying to play for a championship this year, I don’t know that this is the team to do it,” Young said. “And some of that’s got everything to do with (quarterback) Marcel Reid, right?””But for him to develop into a Heisman-caliber quarterback, I need to see a 3,500-yard passer and at least 700 yards on the ground, maybe 1,000. If I get a 3,000, 1,000 year out of Marcel Reed. … it’s the SEC, and we know that because it’s the SEC, you can take nothing for granted in as far as what your schedule is, because even the bad teams are still not that bad.”The Aggies will kick off their 2025 season on Aug. 30 against the UTSA Roadrunners. They are scheduled to compete against Notre Dame, LSU, Florida, Utah State and others.