Texas A&M’s preseason spot in the Coaches Poll tells the story before the season even kicks off: this is not shaping up to be a soft road.
The Aggies open at No. 8 heading into Mike Elko’s third year, making them the third-highest-ranked SEC team behind only No. 3 Georgia and No.
4 Texas. That placement also means six other SEC teams land below them in the poll, but the bigger takeaway is what waits on the schedule.
Of the nine SEC teams ranked in the top 25, Texas A&M will face all but three during the regular season. That alone gives the Aggies a very different look from last year, when schedule complaints followed them around after an 11-1 regular season.
Part of that criticism came from how the year finished. Texas A&M played four teams that were ranked at the time of the game, but only two opponents ended the season ranked.
One was Texas, the Aggies’ only regular-season loss. The other was Notre Dame.
LSU and Missouri also hurt the strength-of-schedule argument by fading late. Both dropped out of the AP final top-25 poll, and LSU then moved on from Brian Kelly and hired Lane Kiffin this offseason.
This year’s paper trail looks a lot tougher. Even without a non-conference heavyweight like Notre Dame on the schedule, Texas A&M is lined up against SEC contenders LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Every one of those teams starts the season ranked, and Missouri isn’t even part of that list.
The travel only adds to it. All of those matchups except Tennessee and Texas will send the Aggies on the road against a team that could be ranked.
That’s the reality of a nine-game SEC schedule. It could have looked a little different for Texas A&M without it - maybe one fewer road game against a ranked opponent, or maybe one fewer home game. Either way, the margin for error would have been slightly different.
But making the College Football Playoff was never going to be simple. Neither was reaching Atlanta for the program’s first SEC Championship.
If Elko gets Texas A&M back to the playoff, or even to Atlanta, the strength-of-schedule complaints should be a lot quieter than they were a year ago.
In Other News...
Mike Elko Just Spotlighted A Crucial Texas A&M Battle
Texas A&Ms 2026 preseason opened with Mike Elko meeting the media alongside Micah Riley, Mark Nabou Jr. and Dalton Brooks, and one of the early topics was a spot that rarely gets treated like an afterthought inside the program. With KC Concepcion now gone to the Cleveland Browns, the Aggies are not just replacing a receiver, they are also reworking a return job that carried real value last season and helped shape field position in a few different ways.
Elko pointed to Mario Craver, Isaiah Horton and Terry Bussey as the players in the mix during fall camp, which gives Texas A&M a small but important competition to watch as August unfolds. Punt return is one of those roles that can quietly swing momentum over the course of a season, and for a team trying to settle into a new preseason rhythm, figuring out who handles those reps is part of the larger adjustment after Concepcions departure. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Faces A Running Back Battle With Real Offensive Stakes
Fall camp has given Texas A&M a useful problem to sort out in the backfield, where the running back room is still being examined and no starter has been named. Rueben Owens and Jamarion Morrow have emerged as the main names in the mix, and head coach Mike Elko has made it clear the staff is still weighing competition across the roster as it looks for the right fit on offense.
Morrow has a particularly intriguing case after flashing last season, when he logged 43 carries for 182 yards and a touchdown. Owens brings his own appeal, and the conversation in camp is less about just finding snaps than figuring out which back gives the Aggies the best chance to set the tone on offense once the season starts. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Freshmen Are Already Fueling Serious Buzz In College Station
Mike Elkos recruiting push has Texas A&M looking a lot different in College Station, and the momentum is showing up well before any of the newcomers take a snap that counts. After back-to-back top-10 classes and an early No. 1 spot for 2027, the Aggies have built a roster pipeline that is drawing plenty of attention, with the 2026 group already being talked about for its speed, size and athleticism.
The buzz is not just coming from the staff, either. Early arrivals have made an impression on veteran players such as tight end Micah Riley, and there is a growing sense around the program that the classs work ethic matches its talent. For a team trying to turn recruiting gains into real on-field traction, that kind of early buy-in is exactly the sort of development that can start to change expectations inside the locker room. [Read more 🡒]