SEC Mike shares his opinions on A&M through four weeks of play

Host of That SEC Podcast, Michael Bratton joined Friday's edition of TexAgs Live ahead of No. 24 Texas A&M's final trip to Jerry World against Arkansas. "SEC Mike" offered his thoughts on the Aggies' offensive line play, their upcoming schedule and much more.

Key notes from Michael Bratton interview

• As of today, I would probably not take Vanderbilt to beat the Aggies, but I think many Aggies have seen that Vanderbilt is a quality team. They nearly knocked off Missouri. 
   
• I think the incredible expectations and not giving coaches and players time to grow and develop have stunted the growth of some SEC programs. If you can't get it done quickly these days, you can't get it done. I don't know if that is the best method to build a winning program. 
   
• I'm looking at Florida as the 15th-best team in the SEC right now. The Aggies took care of them, so let's give them credit. Florida is just so horrible, especially on defense. 
   
• Texas A&M's offensive line is holding them back right now. I think it is holding back the offense. 
   
• If I had to hear about how good that Bowling Green tight end was one more time, I would throw up. 
   
• If you would have told me A&M was 3-1 after the first four games, I would have signed up for that. It's crazy to call them a playoff team, but they can still get there if they improve every week. Everything is still in front of them.
   
• Cousin Shane and I have an offseason wager on the Texas A&M vs. Missouri game over who will be favored. I said in the summer that A&M would be favored. If they take care of business on Saturday, they will be. Otherwise, Missouri will be favored. Shane and I have bet a milk-chugging contest on who will be favored. With the way Missouri has been playing, there is no reason that Texas A&M can't beat them in College Station. Missouri has the potential to beat A&M handily, but they have not been in sync on offense.
   
• You can't tell me something has not been wrong with Brady Cook. I think he is injured or something. He is not the same player as last year. 
   
• Taylen Green is probably the better quarterback in this A&M-Arkansas matchup, but he is half amazing and half head-scratching. He will have a huge bad play and then hit you over the top for fifty yards. Green has shown us more, but Marcel Reed also hasn't made a critical mistake. 
   
• Talking to Arkansas people, Green is just throwing it up to the tallest guy because they have drilled into him not to throw interceptions. In his head, either Andrew Armstrong is going to catch it, or no one is going to. They have to get him out of that because you can't go a full season just throwing to one guy.
   
• Florida fans can't get over themselves thinking it is a significantly better job than Ole Miss. Maybe it was for 100 years. That is not the game anymore. Lane Kiffin is not going to downplay the Florida job. He is doing that because he wants a raise first of all, but more importantly because he will coach whichever team will guarantee him more NIL dollars. We have seen Florida have one miscue after another off the field with NIL. Meanwhile, Ole Miss is spending around 14-15 million dollars on their roster. Lane Kiffin will go where the NIL dollars are promised. That is how you determine what is a good job or not. 
   
• Despite what people think, Florida does not have a bunch of mega-donors down there. I'm not saying they are broke, but they have to buy Billy Napier out, pay a new coaching staff, and then reinvest in NIL. I don't think they have the money to do all that.
   
• The Matthew Sluka deal is a he-said-he-said situation. They are probably both being truthful in some capacity. I have heard a lot of people ask why Sluka didn't get this in writing. The NCAA rules do not allow for that. None of this can be in writing. This was bound to happen, and I think it will continue until someone solves these issues. I don't know how it gets done because it is the court system that is determining all this. There is no resolution at this moment. 
   
• It is so hard to wade through all the NIL rumors that are out there. I am hearing things all across the SEC. I don't know if it is true, but it is reasonable to anticipate that it is going on. It seems like it is a nightmare behind the scenes. You better have a really strong culture and hope that your collectives are paying what they are telling the kids they will pay. 
   
• I don't think it is supposed to work in that way where you take money away from a kid because he can't play. It's not pay-for-play, even though that's what it really is. I think the best example is Jackson Arnold at Oklahoma. He is making a ton of money and isn't even starting anymore. That may be a case study. I hope he gets every dollar he is promised and bounces back. Something is clearly wrong with the offense down in Norman.
   
• I like Georgia. I am pretty confident. We have seen Kirby Smart in so many big games. Nick Saban isn't on the other sideline anymore. Kalen DeBoer has to prove it to me. I think Georgia will force Jalen Milroe to beat them from the pocket. 
   
• I picked Oklahoma yesterday before the injury reports were revealed, so I am even less confident in that prediction. Oklahoma is down to one receiver and is moving corners over to play wide receiver. They have a true freshman on the road starting at quarterback.
   
• Hugh Freeze is a bad comment way from losing the locker room and a bad loss way from losing the fan base. Every bad thing you have heard about him is true. He is a horrible person. Freeze has been that for twenty years, going back to high school. The stories are lengthy. Auburn sold its soul to bring him on. 
   
• I'm not sure I would say that LSU is a five-loss team just because of how favorable the schedule is. They are the most fraudulent 3-1 team in the SEC. The referees gave them the game against South Carolina. The LSU defense is a disaster and doesn't seem to be getting any better. UCLA is awful, and they were tied with them at halftime. LSU may be the worst first-half team in the conference and the best second-half team in the conference. I don't think they have any shot against Ole Miss or Alabama. They will probably find another loss on their schedule, so give me four losses, but I don't think it'll get as bad as 7-5.
   
• Bobby Petrino and his play-calling should be something that the Aggies look out for. Ja'Quinden Jackson is an incredible running back. He would be first-team All-SEC if the season ended today. Protecting Marcel Reed will also be important. Arkansas' defense is not great, but they have a veteran defensive line. If they get after Marcel Reed in this game, I think Arkansas will win.