Texas A&M walked out of its 41-0 win over The Citadel with a cleaner look and a little more breathing room, but not a changed identity. After a rough start to its Southeastern Conference schedule, the Aggies got exactly what a tune-up game is supposed to provide: a reset, not a revelation.
The biggest takeaway was the workload split at quarterback. Marcel Reed and Brady Hart handled most of the game, and Hart’s half after the break may have mattered more than the final score.
He finished 8-for-12 for 107 yards and a touchdown, added four yards on one scramble, and stayed in rhythm with true freshman wide receiver Aaron Gregory. Against a defense that was overmatched from the start, Hart looked composed enough to strengthen his case as a real option for Texas A&M going forward.
The running back room also took center stage, and that group gave the Aggies a lift they badly needed. True sophomore Jamarion Morrow returned from injury and delivered a career night, piling up 54 rushing yards and three touchdowns with the kind of hard-edged running Texas A&M has been searching for.
True freshman KJ Edwards was even more explosive, going for 116 yards on 13 carries and coming one broken tackle away from a 98-yard score. Fellow freshman Carsyn Baker matched Morrow’s rushing total and nearly got into the end zone as well.
Rueben Owens II’s role was more limited, and that told its own story. He played four snaps, carried twice for 10 yards, and the Aggies made it clear that Mike Elko and Holmon Wiggins are willing to adjust as they look for answers. David Olano added to the steady day by extending his field-goal streak to 11 straight.
On defense, Texas A&M did what it was supposed to do. Lyle Hemphill’s unit held The Citadel without a point and limited the Bulldogs to 183 total yards, though it did not come away with a turnover. The passing game was rarely used by the Bulldogs, and it produced just three completions on ten attempts against Dezz Ricks and the rest of the secondary.
Still, this was always about what comes next. Alabama is up first, with ranked matchups against Tennessee and Texas still looming after that.
Texas A&M has managed only three touchdowns against AP-ranked opponents this season over three games, and none in the last two. So while the win over The Citadel helped steady things, the real test remains ahead.
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Mike Elko Got A Reset But Texas A&M Still Has Everything To Prove
The win over The Citadel at least gave Texas A&M a clean break from the kind of performance that had hung over the program after the Missouri game, when the Aggies failed to score a touchdown and looked nowhere near the standard they need to reach. For a team trying to steady itself under Mike Elko, even a lopsided result can matter because it offers a chance to regroup, refocus and stop the spiral from looking permanent.
Still, one reset does not change the larger question facing this season. The Aggies have to show they can carry that momentum into games that actually define an SEC year, and that means proving the offense and overall consistency travel against better competition. Until they do, the Missouri loss will feel less like a bad day and more like the clearest warning sign of what this team still has to overcome. [Read more 🡒]
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Crowell has been one of Alabamas most efficient runners by yards per carry, while Brown has been a steady presence in the secondary and leads the team in passes defended. For Texas A&M, the situation adds another layer to a game that already carries real SEC weight, because Alabamas available personnel in the backfield and on the perimeter could shape how aggressive the Tide can be from the opening series on. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Faces A Bigger Question Than Its Alabama Trip
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One name already floating into that discussion is Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele from Cal, a signal that Texas A&Ms attention extends well beyond Saturdays matchup. For a team trying to stabilize its trajectory, the Alabama game is only part of the picture, and the rest of it involves how aggressively the Aggies choose to pursue help at the games most important position. [Read more 🡒]