Texas A&M’s path the rest of the way is all SEC, all pressure.
After handling the Citadel last week, the Aggies head back into league play this week with a trip to Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium, their first visit there since October 2021. That means no soft landing and no easy reset. Every game left on the schedule comes against an SEC opponent, and with A&M having won only one SEC game this season, the margin for error is already gone.
That’s why the three games left that matter most are easy to spot. Each one could either stir hope around the program or make the noise even louder around head coach Mike Elko.
The biggest name on the list is Texas. Since the “Lone Star Showdown” returned in 2024, the Longhorns have taken both meetings by pulling away in the second half and limiting A&M to 24 combined points across the two games. A win over a Texas team that is also in the middle of a disappointing season wouldn’t erase what’s already happened for the Aggies, but it would at least give the fan base something real to hold onto.
For Elko, that game carries extra weight. He’s 23-10 at A&M, but another loss to Texas would make him the first Aggies head coach since Dennis Franchione (2003-2005) to lose to the Longhorns three straight years. It would also slow the recruiting momentum A&M has built and revive the idea that Elko can’t beat a Steve Sarkisian-coached team.
Then there’s Alabama, A&M’s best shot at a signature win this season. The Crimson Tide are the highest-ranked opponent left on the schedule, which makes this the Aggies’ biggest opportunity to change the conversation.
Alabama comes in having dropped back-to-back games to Georgia and Tennessee, but that doesn’t make the challenge any smaller in Tuscaloosa. If A&M can pull it off, it would be its first win at Alabama since 2012, when Johnny Manziel led the No.
15 Aggies to the upset over the top-ranked Crimson Tide. It would also be A&M’s first road win of the season and a meaningful step toward salvaging a season that has already gone sideways.
The third game to watch is Oklahoma, a matchup that doesn’t get the same national oxygen as Texas, but still carries real edge. The two schools haven’t faced each other since the 2013 Cotton Bowl, and this will be their first meeting as SEC opponents.
It’s a big one for Elko, too. He needs a road win over a ranked team or a rivalry win, and right now his A&M résumé doesn’t have either.
If the Aggies can beat Oklahoma and Texas within six days, it would go a long way toward calming a restless fan base. If they drop both, the offseason starts looking very interesting.
In Other News...
Alabama Faces A Brutal Late Twist Before Texas A&M Showdown
Alabamas availability list for the matchup with Texas A&M is getting a lot of attention, and for good reason. Center Racin Delgatty, cornerback Zabien Brown and running back EJ Crowell all landed on the doubtful list, while wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams has already been ruled out. Defensive lineman Terrance Green is also unavailable, adding more uncertainty to a game that already carries plenty of weight for both sides.
Texas A&M has some encouraging news of its own heading into the trip, with wide receiver Mario Craver and defensive tackle DJ Hicks both upgraded to probable. The Aggies will be watching those late injury updates closely, because availability on both fronts could shape how the game is played at the line of scrimmage and in the passing game, especially with Alabama trying to sort through a thinning depth chart. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Gets An Opening Alabama Suddenly May Not Close
Texas A&Ms injury picture is looking a lot cleaner heading into its matchup with Alabama, with most of the players who had been listed as questionable now trending to probable. The lone exception on the Aggies report is Anto Saka, who remains questionable, but the overall direction is encouraging for a team trying to stay as close to full strength as possible in a game that figures to demand it.
Alabamas report tells a different story, with three players moving from questionable to doubtful, including running back EJ Crowell, center Racin Delgatty and cornerback Zabien Brown. Those shifts matter because availability in a game like this can swing everything from protection up front to depth in the secondary, and it gives Texas A&M a little more reason to believe the opening is real. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Just Sent A Message Before Its Alabama Test
Texas A&M took care of business in emphatic fashion, blanking The Citadel 41-0 for its second shutout of the season. The Aggies didnt just leave with a lopsided win, either, as the performance offered another reminder that this team has the kind of defensive backbone that can travel into a bigger stage.
Now comes the real test in Tuscaloosa against No. 13 Alabama, and the focus inside the program is on sharpening the running game and tightening the defensive approach before that trip. Mike Elko has also shifted defensive play-calling duties to first-year coordinator Lyle Hemphill, a move that gives the head coach more room to oversee the bigger picture as Texas A&M prepares for one of its most important games of the season. [Read more 🡒]