Texas A&M Faces A New Standard Debate Under Mike Elko

With a daunting schedule ahead, skeptics like Cousin Shane express doubt over Texas A&M's ability to make another College Football Playoff run in 2026.

Texas A&M is already drawing skepticism before the season even kicks into gear, and one SEC voice has gone all the way to the extreme end of the prediction scale.

Cousin Shane of ThatSECPodcast said there is “no way” the Aggies make the College Football Playoff again in 2026, and he also floated the idea that Texas A&M will drop its final five games of the year. That stretch would send the Aggies to Alabama, South Carolina and Oklahoma, while Tennessee and Texas would come to Bryan-College Station.

The comments landed after Texas A&M came within one game of the SEC title game and opened 11-0 last season, the program’s first start of that kind since 1992.

There’s obvious sarcasm baked into the take, but it still circles back to the same question facing Mike Elko’s team in year three: can the Aggies match last season’s run, or even build on it?

A lot depends on Marcel Reed. The junior quarterback’s growth as a passer this offseason will be a huge part of the story, especially with four new offensive line pieces needing to come together. If that group clicks, Texas A&M has a real chance to set up another memorable season in Bryan-College Station.

The staff has changed, too. Holmon Wiggins is now running the offense and Lyle Hemphill has taken over as defensive coordinator, but early signs out of fall camp have been encouraging. Reports say Reed has not thrown a turnover in preseason practices, and the offensive line has shown enough flexibility for Wiggins to move different players around in plug-and-play fashion.

Whether this team can actually match last year’s production is still to be seen. But the idea that Texas A&M would simply collapse into five straight losses to end the season feels like a long shot.

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