'Electric Atmosphere!' Mike Elko Predicts Big Turnout For Season Opener

Kyle Field has a capacity of 102,733, but that has not stopped the 12th Man from packing out the stadium above that number.

Jul 18, 2024; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko speaking at Omni Dallas Hotel. Mandatory Credit: Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports / Brett Patzke-USA TODAY Sports

As if it wasn't known before, all eyes are expected to be on Kyle Field Saturday night as the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies begin their 2024 season against the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a game that could already hold massive CFP implications in just the first game.

First-year Aggie head coach Mike Elko took a seat with Andrew Monaco for a solid 40-minute "Aggie Hour" interview, his first as the Aggie coach, right before the beginning of the season.

Oct 7, 2023; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies running back Le'Veon Moss (8) runs with the ball during the second quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Needless to say, the former defensive coordinator is expecting a jam-packed Kyle Field as he calls his first game in College Station from the head coaching position.

"I think we're going 107-108 thousand this weekend, so we're fired up," Elko said. "I think it was the second largest student poll ever and the students are fired up. We brought some pizza to them the other night camping out there and got them excited and so yeah, we're expecting an electric atmosphere."

Since the huge remodeling of Kyle Field a decade ago, the stadium capacity is listed at 102, 733. However, during the 2014 season game against the Ole Miss Rebels, 110,633 fans crammed into the seats at Kyle, the biggest crowd for a college football game until the "Battle at Bristol" between Tennessee and Virginia Tech in 2016, which was held at NASCAR's Bristol Motor Speedway.

Just last season, 108,101 members of the 12th Man populated Kyle Field to watch the Aggies take on the then No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide in an SEC battle for the ages.

If that amount is expected for the season opener, who knows how many will fill the stadium when the Texas Longhorns come to town to close out the season in late November.