Texas A&M came into 2026 talking like a team ready to crash the College Football Playoff picture. A little more than a month later, the conversation has shifted hard, and not in the direction the Aggies imagined.
Through six games, the season has already gone sideways enough that even a bowl appearance no longer feels like a sure thing. That’s a stunning place for Mike Elko’s team to be after opening with a 50-0 win over Missouri State and carrying the kind of hopes the program hadn’t felt since the Johnny Manziel era.
The slide has come earlier than usual, too. In each of the past two seasons, the back half of the schedule did the damage. This year, the trouble started almost immediately.
Part of the issue is structural. Texas A&M is operating with new coordinators on both sides of the ball, and on offense that means Holmon Wiggins has stepped into his first full year as the sole play-caller after a long run coaching wide receivers, including a stint under Nick Saban at Alabama. The passing game has become the centerpiece of the attack, but not by choice, and not with much consistency.
The run game has fallen apart. Against Missouri last Saturday, the Aggies managed only 29 yards on 23 carries, with Rueben Owens’ nine-yard gain standing as the longest rush of the day. That came on the heels of a line that is almost entirely rebuilt, with center Mark Nabou the lone returning starter from last season’s group.
Quarterback play has only made the offense more erratic. Marcel Reed has had open receivers he couldn’t hit because of throws that sailed high or came in too low, and his touchdown-to-interception ratio matches exactly. His quarterback rating sits at 45.5, a number that puts him among the worst in the country.
Under pressure, the mistakes have piled up. The poised, explosive version of Reed that many around the program expected simply hasn’t shown up often enough.
There was hope that a full offseason would sharpen Reed after what Texas A&M did last year. Instead, the opposite has happened so far.
At receiver, Isaiah Horton has the kind of raw ability teams want to build around, but the struggles elsewhere have reopened the question of whether KC Concepcion’s skill set last year was simply more polished for this offense. Mario Craver has still flashed the production he showed early last season, though Mike Elko said he has also been dealing with a few injuries.
Not everything has gone sideways. The defense has mostly held up in its first season under coordinator Lyle Hemphill, and the clearest bright spot on the roster has been kicker David Olano, who has been perfect this season.
Still, if the offense keeps heading this way and the staff keeps passing on any look at Brady Hart at quarterback, the bigger question may be how soon Texas A&M needs to start thinking about 2027.
In Other News...
Texas A&M Gets A Reset With Big Position Battles To Watch
Texas A&M gets another chance to sort through some key questions when it faces The Citadel, with kickoff set for Saturday and the game carrying more weight than a typical nonconference tune-up. The Aggies depth chart still has a few spots worth monitoring, and this matchup offers a cleaner stage to see how certain players handle expanded opportunities, especially with the game available on TV for a wider audience to track.
Among the names to keep an eye on are backup quarterback Brady Hart, defensive player Brandon Davis-Swain and wide receiver Aaron Gregory, each of whom could help shape what this team looks like moving forward. For a staff still sorting out roles, the bigger takeaway may not be the opponent so much as what Texas A&M learns about itself before the schedule gets more demanding. [Read more 🡒]
Missouri Just Watched Texas A&Ms Frustration Spill Into Something Bigger
The loss in Columbia was bad enough on its own, a 27-6 defeat that left Texas A&M sitting at 3-3 and searching for answers after another uneven performance. But the story did not end when the final horn sounded, because the postgame mood quickly shifted from football to frustration, with the Aggies sideline and fan conversation spilling into a broader debate about criticism, loyalty and the temperature around the program.
In the aftermath, Jimbo Fisher Elko took aim at a segment of the online community, calling it a cesspool while drawing a line between the fan base and the social media voices he was targeting. The remarks have only added to the tension around a season already under pressure, and some supporters, including TexAgs co-owner Billy Liucci, have pushed back as the discourse around Texas A&M becomes nearly as charged as the results on the field. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M May Need Offensive Changes Before This Season Slips Away
Texas A&M left another game searching for answers on offense after the loss to Missouri dropped the Aggies to 3-3 and kept the pressure squarely on a unit that has not consistently carried its weight. Head coach Mike Elko has stuck with Conner Weigman at quarterback, even as the passing game has struggled to find rhythm, and that faith has become one of the defining questions around the team as the season moves deeper into fall.
Brady Hart sits behind Weigman as a backup option, but the bigger issue may be whether the Aggies need broader changes than a simple swap under center. The offensive line and running back room are both under review as possible areas for adjustment, and with the record already teetering, Texas A&M may not have much time left to sort out what needs fixing before the season slips further away. [Read more 🡒]