Arizona State is walking into a Texas A&M matchup that could get complicated fast if the Aggies get Terry Bussey rolling.
For the first time in well over a decade, Texas A&M will host a Big 12 opponent at home. In 2026, though, the league labels have flipped: Arizona State is the one tied to the Aggies’ old conference, while Mike Elko’s team now resides in the Southeastern Conference. That makes this a meaningful nonconference game early in the season, with a signature win on the line.
The problem for the Sun Devils is that A&M has more than one player who can tilt a game. Still, Bussey stands out as the one Arizona State can least afford to lose track of.
Bussey arrived in College Station as one of the most productive players in the history of Texas’s 2A Division 1 football, and he was a notable pickup for Elko even after Texas A&M moved on from Jimbo Fisher. A two-way standout in high school, he has settled in on offense at the college level. Now a junior, the Timpson product has been waiting for his moment to become one of the next Aggies to break through.
Against Arizona State, that moment could come into focus.
The comparison that jumps out is Christian Kirk, who put together a well-rounded performance against the Sun Devils 11 years ago, working as both a receiver and returner while piling up more than 200 yards of total offense. Bussey brings a similar profile: a smaller target with enough burst to separate once he gets into space. He already showed some of that upside last season, when he set a career high with 18 catches.
And Bussey is more than just a pass catcher. Texas A&M has also used him as a rushing weapon, including on a red-zone jet sweep against Missouri State that turned into his first touchdown of 2026. It was the kind of play that shows how the Aggies want to get him involved in different ways.
That has been part of the plan from the start. Making sure Bussey got touches was a point of emphasis in A&M’s first matchup, and a bigger year could be coming as he works alongside Mario Craver, Isaiah Horton and Ashton Bethel-Roman. Those names give the Aggies plenty of options, but they also make it clear why Bussey has to keep earning his share.
Special teams is another place where he can change the game. Last season, Bussey returned 18 kicks for more than 400 yards, even if he did not reach the end zone on any of them. Put him in space, and he has a chance to make something happen.
He has not been the centerpiece of the offense yet, but this matchup gives him a chance to show exactly why Texas A&M recruited him. If the Aggies are going to land the kind of early-season win that gets people talking, Bussey could be the player who makes Arizona State pay.
In Other News...
Rival Coach Just Turned LSUs SEC Controversy Into A Bigger Story
Mike Elko did not need much prompting to weigh in on LSUs recent run-in with the SEC, and the Texas A&M coach used a pointed analogy to describe what happened around Baton Rouge. Speaking after LSUs dispute with the league over its attempt to roster former NFL players, Elko compared the episode to a child pushing limits before the consequences arrive, a sharp way to frame a controversy that briefly had the Tigers staring at possible expulsion.
The SEC ultimately backed off after LSU filled those roster spots with eligible student-athletes and severed ties with the former NFL rookies, defusing a situation that had threatened to become much bigger. Elko said he expects things to settle down and LSU to remain in the league, but his remarks added another layer to a strange little saga that already had the SEC office and one of Texas A&Ms biggest rivals in the middle of it. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Elko Just Turned Up Texas A&Ms LSU Tension Again
Mike Elko has a way of making the SECs biggest rivalries sound a little more personal, and his latest remarks only added to the edge around Texas A&Ms meeting with LSU. The Aggies coach drew a comparison between the conferences disciplinary response and a parent correcting a child, a blunt way of saying LSU is being kept in check as the league weighs the fallout from the Tigers offseason activity.
For Texas A&M, it is the kind of comment that keeps an old SEC tension simmering in public view rather than letting it fade into the background. With future games between the Aggies and LSU looming, Elkos framing only sharpens the sense that this is about more than one isolated conference issue, because the rivalry already has enough history without needing any extra fuel. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Is Bringing Back One Of Kyle Fields Most Meaningful Traditions
Texas A&M will add a familiar layer of meaning to its upcoming Red, White and Blue Game against Arizona State at Kyle Field, using the matchup to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The Aggies are planning to wear special red, white and blue helmets and gloves, reviving a tradition that stretches back to the years immediately after 2001 and has long tied the programs on-field presence to a larger moment of remembrance.
The game has also carried a charitable side in the past, with previous Red, White and Blue Games helping raise funds for organizations connected to 9/11 relief efforts. For a fan base that values the symbolism attached to Kyle Field traditions, this one will once again be about more than just the opponent across the field. [Read more 🡒]