Texas A&M heads into Saturday’s matchup with Tennessee still trying to steady a season that has gone sideways, and the first SEC availability report at least offered one small bit of relief.
The Aggies listed only five players Wednesday, with wide receiver Mario Craver the lone name tagged as questionable. That’s a much shorter report than Texas A&M has dealt with at other points this season, though it hardly means the roster is suddenly whole.
Craver has shown up on the injury report several times this year and still managed to suit up once game day arrived. He played against South Carolina, so this latest designation does not automatically point to him missing Saturday’s game. Even so, his status matters for an offense that needs every available playmaker it can get.
Texas A&M will already be without several pieces. Offensive lineman Trovon Baugh is doubtful, while wide receivers Terry Bussey and Kelshaun Johnson are out, along with offensive lineman Blake Ivy. Those absences are nothing new - all four are out for the rest of the season - but they continue to thin out Mike Elko’s options as the Aggies try to keep their bowl hopes alive.
The bigger challenge is the state of the season itself. Texas A&M enters the game at 4-5 and needs two wins in its final three games to become bowl eligible. The Aggies have dropped five of their last six against SEC opponents, including last weekend’s 17-9 loss to South Carolina.
A defeat to Tennessee would not officially end Texas A&M’s bowl chances, but it would leave the Aggies needing to beat Oklahoma and Texas to close the regular season.
Tennessee brings its own injury issues into Kyle Field. The Volunteers’ report is longer, and the biggest loss is defensive lineman Tyree Weathersby, who suffered a season-ending injury against Kentucky last weekend. Weathersby has been one of the best pass rushers in the country, and Tennessee’s defense will have to move on without him.
Six other Tennessee players are also out: tight end Ethan Davis, wide receiver Joakim Dodson, offensive lineman Wendell Moe Jr., linebacker Jaedon Harmon and defensive backs Edrees Farooq and Dylan Lewis.
Texas A&M hosts No. 8 Tennessee at 2 p.m.
CT Saturday at Kyle Field. The game will be televised on ESPN.
In Other News...
Texas A&M's QB Search Just Got A Lot More Expensive
The quarterback market is getting pricier by the day, and Texas A&M is feeling the squeeze before the offseason even fully takes shape. Mississippi States Kamario Taylor is reportedly finalizing a $7.5 million deal to return for the 2027 season, a move that would put him in line to become the highest-paid quarterback in college football and remove one of the more intriguing names from the transfer board.
For the Aggies, the bigger issue is what that kind of number says about the market they are about to enter. High-production quarterbacks are increasingly choosing to stay put instead of testing the portal, and the ones who do become available are commanding eye-popping money. That leaves Texas A&M staring at a quarterback search that could be as much about financial muscle as football fit, with the next move likely to come at a steep cost. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Elko Faces One Huge Choice In Texas A&Ms CFP Push
Texas A&Ms push toward the expanded College Football Playoff is already being shaped by the decisions Mike Elko will have to make as the program looks ahead to the 2027 season. In his third year, Elko will be balancing continuity and change, with offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins and quarterback Marcel Reed sitting at the center of the Aggies offensive outlook while the defense shows encouraging signs under first-year coordinator Lyle Hemphill.
The bigger picture for the Aggies is straightforward enough: if they are going to get back into the playoff conversation, the roster has to keep getting stronger. Recruiting and the transfer portal should give Texas A&M chances to add more talent, but the offense still has to settle into a clear direction and the quarterback situation has to stay on track. For a team with postseason expectations rising along with the new format, those choices could end up defining how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Is Remembering One Of The Programs Most Complicated Coaches
F.A. Dry, the former TCU football coach whose tenure in Fort Worth stretched from 1977 to 1982, has died at 95. His time with the Horned Frogs was complicated by the results on the field, but his place in the programs history went well beyond wins and losses, with Dry leaving a lasting imprint on the way the offense evolved.
Drys coaching career also included stops at Tulsa and Baylor, and his influence reached far beyond the schools where he worked. He was tied to the early development of modern offensive ideas, including the roots of the West Coast offense, and Tulsa later honored him with induction into its athletics hall of fame. [Read more 🡒]