Bold predictions for Texas A&M football in 2026
Marcel Reed finishes top-3 in the SEC in total offense
The man upon whom so many of Texas A&M’s hopes rest has reportedly taken the step that Aggie fans have been hoping for this offseason, and it will show up this season. Holmon Wiggins is determined to get the most out of Marcel this season, and that means utilizing Reed’s most potent weapon— his running ability— even more.
That doesn’t always mean designed runs— sometimes, it’s rollouts and moving the pocket. But even that will open many more things up for no. 10, who has a much deeper room of receivers to work with this year than he did last season.
This offense will run through Reed even more than it did last year, which means his yardage should only increase. Marcel finished 5th in the conference in total yardage last season, and only one player ahead of him (Trinidad Chambliss) is returning— so this is a safe bet for Marcel.
Texas A&M triples their interception total from 2025
For however good the defense was for Texas A&M last season, picking off passes was far from a strength. The Aggies finished dead last in the conference in 2025 in interceptions, managing only three the entire year.
The personnel that the Aggies had last year precipitated coverages that were not as conducive to creating interceptions, which contributed strongly to this outcome, but with a deeper roster this year, there can be a lot more versatility with what Mike Elko and Lyle Hemphill can cook up. Creating takeaways should be at a premium this year, so it should be a point of emphasis for these two.
With such an experienced defensive backfield, too, the Aggies should have a bit more success implementing different schemes. If the Aggies are able to turn opponents over at an increased rate, their defense will take the step from good to great very quickly.
Aggies go 3-1 in November
The final month of the regular season is a gauntlet to end all gauntlets for the Aggies, visiting South Carolina and Oklahoma while hosting Tennessee and Texas. Splitting that four-game stretch seems like it would be good, but I think the Aggies do even better than that.
Give me 3-1 for Texas A&M down the stretch of the year. I think the Aggies will drop one of those two road trips, to either South Carolina or OU— though it seems more likely that the trip to Norman is the most perilous— but will remain undefeated in Kyle Field.
Tennessee gets the blackout game treatment from the Aggies, both of which in the Elko era have been blowout wins. Meanwhile, with no more Pete Kwiatkowski in Austin, the Aggies will blow the doors off of the Longhorns on Black Friday.
A&M defensive line matches last year’s sack total
While no one will match Cashius Howell’s personal sack total on this Aggie team (unless Anto Saka or Marco Jones are going to defy any and all expectations), the depth and versatility of this defensive line will be enough to get the Aggies back to their mark from last year of 43 total.
Howell accounted for more than a quarter of all of Texas A&M’s sacks last year by himself— the next closest on the team was Dayon Hayes with 4.5. Then comes Dalton Brooks with 4 and Daymion Sanford with 3.5– both of whom are returning this year.
Elko and company know how to create havoc up front, and the Aggies will be elite at that this year. There are a lot of people sleeping on how disruptive this line is and can be, but that won’t be the case for long.
Mike Elko gets A&M back to College Football Playoff
The Aggies need to get to 10-2 to get back into the playoff with this schedule, and that’s a mark I think they reach. 11-1 feels difficult to conceive right now— if the Aggies emerge from Tuscaloosa unblemished, though, it gets very real very quickly.
The telltale signs will be a late September trip to Death Valley and the aforementioned trip to T-Town. Losses in either of those games mean the Aggies will be needing a strong finish in November, and losses in both means all margin for error is gone.
I think Elko has the depth and the horses to get this team back there, though. Give me the Aggies making it back to the field of 12 in Elko’s third year behind a blisteringly efficient year from Reed and a terrifying defense.
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