"I think Texas A&M finishes better than Texas this year in SEC": Paul Finebaum predicts Mike Elko's team to be better than Longhorns in 2024

Michael Bratton of "That SEC Podcast" boldly predicted on the "Paul Finebaum Show" on Monday that Mike Elko's Texas A&M Aggies will outperform Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns in the 2024 season. This comes despite Texas' impressive victory over SEC champion Alabama last year.

"I think Texas A&M finishes better than Texas this year in the SEC," Bratton said.

Finebaum remained silent for a long while before saying:

"I just have to hear that one more time.”

Bratton doubled down, saying that Texas is being overhyped based on their prior conference. He said that Texas' success in the Big 12 won't translate to the tougher Southeastern Conference competition, particularly the "SEC grind" it will face throughout the season.

Bratton anticipates both teams being strong but believes the Aggies will win their matchup at A&M's Kyle Field on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 30).

Texas went 12-2 last season, winning the Big 12 and finishing third in the nation. A&M went 7-6 and lost 31-23 in the Texas Bowl to Oklahoma State, which lost 49-21 to Texas in the Big 12 championship game.

"Give me both around, probably, 9-3, 10-2 type, but I think the difference is going to be in College Station ... last game in the regular season." Bratton added, "I think Texas is severely overrated because of what they did in the Big 12 last year."

Finebaum believes potential ACC implosion could spark conference feeding frenzy

The future of the Atlantic Coast Conference is casting a long shadow over college athletics, according to ESPN's Paul Finebaum. A collapse of the conference could spark a frenzy between the powerhouse Big Ten and SEC conferences, each vying for the most valuable remaining ACC schools.

Finebaum highlighted the key question: If the ACC crumbles, who gets its top schools? He said that the college athletics world better brace for the possibility of continued realignment as conferences jockey for dominance.

“I think the real concern for everyone in this group is what happens if the ACC starts to implode even more than it currently is,” Finebaum said on "McElroy and Cubelic."

“And because, I mean, there are certain schools that I don’t think either league really wants, and then there are those who I think both covet. So, I think that’s where it would get really sticky.”

Finebaum doubts conference commissioners Greg Sankey (SEC) and Kevin Warren (Big Ten) will engage in a straightforward school-swapping exercise.

“I don’t think Greg Sankey and Tony Petitti would sit in a room and go ‘OK, you take that one; I’ll take that one.’ That’s just not the way this works,” Finebaum said.

Finebaum suggested the conferences might find common ground on legislative and legal matters, presenting a united front in courtrooms and lobbying efforts.

Ultimately, the fate of the ACC could determine the next phase of college athletics. With television deals locked in for the future, the biggest prize for conferences becomes the leftover schools from a potential ACC collapse.