Texas A&M gets a look at one of its own old faces in Week 3, and that makes the Kentucky game at Kyle Field a little more interesting than your standard September matchup.
Jay Bateman, who spent the last two seasons as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator, is now on the other sideline in Lexington. Kentucky head coach Will Stein, the former Oregon offensive coordinator, hired Bateman to run the defense as he begins trying to rebuild a program that has been uneven over the last few seasons. With Stein’s offensive background, a transfer quarterback with plenty of upside and a staff full of experienced assistants, the Wildcats have the ingredients to be a sneaky problem in the SEC.
The matchup arrives on Sept. 19 in College Station as part of the 12-day, 12-opponent series previewing the Aggies’ schedule.
Bateman’s defense will line up in a 4-2-5 look, and Kentucky brings back a front that can cause real trouble. Defensive tackle Tavion Gadson is the name to know inside after posting 28 total tackles, four tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks last season.
That kind of interior disruption is exactly what Texas A&M’s new-look offensive line has to handle if it wants to keep junior quarterback Marcel Reed clean. The Wildcats also have a seasoned back end, with safeties Ty Bryant and Jordan Castell giving them two of the SEC’s most experienced players at the position.
On offense, Kentucky is leaning on the pairing of Joe Sloan and Will Stein, two coaches who have worked with elite quarterbacks. Sloan coached Heisman winner Jayden Daniels at LSU, while Stein’s Oregon résumé includes Bo Nix, Dillon Gabriel and Dante Moore. That experience matters because Kentucky went into the portal and added Notre Dame transfer Kenny Minchey, a dual-threat quarterback who looks capable of making things happen both through the air and on the move.
The Wildcats also added former Texas running back CJ Baxter, who showed promise before a hamstring injury with the Longhorns in 2025. Between the coaching staff and the personnel, Kentucky has enough firepower to make its offense dangerous.
Still, this is a team in the middle of a rebuild, and Texas A&M gets it at home in an afternoon game at Kyle Field. Minchey will be making his second SEC start, with his first coming against Alabama in Week 2, and the Aggies’ secondary figures to be a major part of the equation. Minchey has the arm to challenge defenses all over the field, but his athletic ability and speed can also create problems.
The call here: Texas A&M 30, Kentucky 17. The Aggies should be positioned to grab their first SEC win of 2026 and move to 3-0, but Kentucky looks like a team the rest of the conference needs to keep an eye on.
In Other News...
Mike Elko Confirms Troubling Texas A&M Roster Losses Before Opener
Texas A&M is heading into its 2026 opener already dealing with a thinner roster than hoped, with Mike Elko confirming that defensive lineman Chace Sims and running back Tiger Riden will miss the season because of injuries. The Aggies also have lost offensive lineman Nelson McGuire and wide receiver Jerome Myles, who have left the team for personal reasons, trimming depth on both sides of the ball as the season approaches.
The timing is hardly ideal with Missouri State up first on Sept. 5, and it adds another layer of urgency to the final weeks of preparation. For an Aggies team trying to settle its depth chart before kickoff, the question now is less about the opening opponent than how much of the next-man-up plan can be put in place before the first snap. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Defense Has An Early Problem Before Lyle Hemphill's Debut
Lyle Hemphill is stepping into his first season as Texas A&Ms defensive coordinator with a few obvious priorities already taking shape. After Jay Bateman left for Kentucky, the Aggies elevated Hemphill from within, and the early days of his tenure have been about more than installing a new voice. Linebacker Daymion Sanford went down with a lower body injury, nudging younger players such as DJ Hicks and CJ Mims into bigger roles as the defense keeps building toward the opener.
Hemphill has also made it clear where he wants the emphasis to stay: on the details that travel well into game week. The Aggies have been working on fumble recovery drills and general execution, the kind of routine but essential stuff that can determine how quickly a new staff settles in. For a defense adjusting to a fresh coordinator while waiting on injured players to sort themselves out, those small practice habits suddenly carry a little more weight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Suddenly Has A Depth Problem Before Week 1
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Riden had appeared in five games last season, while Sims never got into a game, but both were part of the programs plan for adding help to the backfield and interior line. Elko did not disclose the nature or timing of either injury, leaving the Aggies to absorb the loss without much detail and with Week 1 now approaching under less-than-ideal circumstances. [Read more 🡒]