Texas A&M has a clear benchmark in front of it this fall: win consistently, handle the spotlight, and turn last season’s success into something more permanent.
That’s the bar because the Aggies haven’t put together back-to-back double-digit win seasons since 1994, when R.C. Slocum and the A&M “Wrecking Crew” defense were powering four straight double-digit campaigns in the Southwest Conference. If Mike Elko is going to end that run, the path starts with a simple number - at least seven SEC wins.
That’s easier said than done. Since joining the SEC in 2012, Texas A&M has reached that mark only twice, doing it last season and during the COVID season of 2020 under Jimbo Fisher.
This year’s league slate makes the challenge even steeper, with six top-25 teams on the schedule. Still, the Aggies have enough talent to make the climb, especially with quarterback Marcel Reed back in the mix.
Kyle Field has to become a weapon again if Texas A&M wants to get there. There was a time when the place was one of the toughest stadiums in the country for visiting teams, but that edge has faded in recent years. The Aggies do still have a home-field advantage, but the old fear factor isn’t what it used to be.
That needs to change with big home dates ahead against Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas, plus a non-conference matchup with Arizona State. If A&M is going to win double-digit games and push toward the CFP, protecting Kyle Field has to be part of the formula.
The Aggies showed last season what that can look like. In seven home regular-season games, Reed and company scored 31 points or more in six of them and finished undefeated at Kyle Field for the first time since 2020.
For A&M, that kind of production needs to become the standard, not the exception. Big offensive nights at home are part of how the program can start reclaiming the kind of edge it had in the 1990s.
The new SEC protected conference opponents schedule adds another layer to the mission. Texas A&M will need to keep stacking wins against Texas, LSU and Missouri if it wants to build toward regular double-digit seasons. Those games matter for momentum, and they matter on the recruiting trail too, no matter the cycle.
Last year, Elko’s team handled that part of the job well, going 2-1 against those built-in rivals. The Aggies beat LSU and Missouri on the road, then fell to Arch Manning and Texas in Austin, but still finished the regular season 11-1. That momentum carried into the spring, when Elko and his staff turned it into a Top 10 recruiting class.
This season brings another tough test. Texas is coming to College Station, but A&M still has the challenge of winning again in Baton Rouge and Columbia. If the Aggies want to make double-digit wins a regular thing, those are the kinds of games they have to keep taking care of.
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The early read is encouraging because the Aggies are not starting from scratch on either side of the ball. They have experience returning on defense as well, and with kickoff dates and some TV windows already attached to the slate, there is at least a clearer sense of when the real tests will start to stack up and what kind of response this group will need to show once the season begins. [Read more 🡒]