Fittingly, Texas A&M followed Texas in the first weekly conference call of the season with all 16 of the SEC football coaches on Wednesday.

Whether Aggie adorers or Longhorn lovers like it or not, the two rival schools separated by 100 miles of rolling prairie are once again connected at the conference hip, a pair of conjoined and quick-tempered twins. They’re the only two schools from the state of Texas in the expanded SEC, and their rivalry extends across all sports and all seasons.

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Don’t believe it? Just ask Cotton Holdings, Inc., an infrastructure support services conglomerate that likely paid millions (the amount was not disclosed) to sponsor the athletic rivalry between the two schools. When they play Nov. 30, it'll be for the first time since Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the SEC in 2012.

But new Texas A&M coach Mike Elko doesn’t have time to worry about a game more than three months away, even if the 47-year-old New Jersey native has quickly learned he can’t ever ignore it.

“We know it's there, certainly through the offseason, we are very aware of that game,” he said. “We know that it’s coming down the road. But I think when you get to this point in the season, it's really, really easy to not focus on that one and just kind of focus on this week’s game. I mean, at this point, I handle it by focusing on Notre Dame.”

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About this week. Notre Dame, which is ranked No. 7 in the US LBM preseason coaches’ poll, visits No. 20 Texas A&M for just the second time in school history. The Irish carry enough clout in college football to distract even the most die-hard saw-’em-off supporters.

Notre Dame harbors hopes of reaching the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff behind a veteran defense that features star defensive back Benjamin Morrison and a revamped offense led by dual-threat Duke quarterback transfer Riley Leonard. The Irish, who stubbornly remain independent in the age of conference expansion, play just three teams ranked in the preseason Top 25. One stumble could end their CFP hopes.

Texas A&M has reasons for its optimism, starting with the arrival of Elko from Duke. The no-nonsense former defensive coordinator for the Aggies seems like a good fit in College Station, and his steady demeanor is a welcomed departure from the drama that seemed to always accompany former coach Jimbo Fisher.

But as Elko told the media Wednesday, all the offseason chatter is finally over, and his team has a chance to reintroduce itself to the college football world.

“Listen, you got the prime-time slot in ABC (and) there's going to be 4-5 million eyes on Texas A&M football this weekend,” he said. “So, that gives us a tremendous stage and a tremendous platform to go out and put our best foot forward and play our brand of football.”

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas A&M football coach Mike Elko ready for Notre Dame on ABC