Through the noise of the strength of schedule of Texas A&M's 2025-26 campaign and how it hadn't beat any notable opponents outside of then-No. 8 Notre Dame— and despite the frustrating and disappointing end to the season, some reigns need to be pulled back.
It's easy to get caught up in the moment and forget just how the Aggies got here. Though there's been much negativity and criticism, (some rightfully so, some just background noise), the 2025-26 year has been a historic best for the Maroon and White.
Many outlets pegged the Aggies as another 8-4 team again, with another bowl trip and no College Football Playoffs in the making. Yet in just his second year, coach Mike Elko defied the odds and took the Maroon and White to an 11-1 season and a trip to the school's first ever trip to the playoffs.
Especially coming from the Jimbo Fisher era where, despite garnering the best ever recruiting class in history, A&M's hit some rough lows, including when it lost to unranked Appalachian State. Now, the present and future looks bright.
The Lows
Getting the negativity out the way, the most obvious source of criticism is how Elko has closed out seasons. In his first year, he had the Aggies atop of the SEC after a 7-1 start. Then the losses piled up as South Carolina, Auburn, and ultimately Texas, extinguished the maroon flame. A late collapse to USC in the Las Vegas Bowl officially stamped the weaknesses in A&M's game: closing out games.
Fast forward a year later and, despite all the success the Aggies put up through 11 games— including a school record comeback win down 27 points against South Carolina and a signature clutch win against Notre Dame— the same meltdown happened again. Lackluster offensive playcalling and execution, Marcel Reed struggling, and breakdowns against the run on defense led to brutal losses against Texas (yet again) and a first-round exit against Miami. In winnable games in the clutch, there was just never a time where both sides clicked (and is a glaring flaw thus far in the Elko era).
On top of that, the Aggies will take heavy losses — both on the field and behind the scenes. Offensive coordinator Collin Klein will go to his alma mater Kansas State to become head coach, and defensive coordinator Jay Bateman will go to Kentucky. Impact players will also more than likely go to the draft: defensive end Cashius Howell, wide receiver KC Concepcion, linebacker Taurean York and offensive lineman Chase Bisontis among others will be missed unless they miraculously come back.
Though there will be work to be done in replacing and righting the ship for next year, there is no better coach for Texas A&M than Elko.
The Highs
Through all the depressing talk and getting into the nitty-gritty of it, one fact remains: the 2025-26 year was a massive success for Elko and the Aggies. The argument for A&M's schedule being 'weak' is a flawed one: as one who hates using preseason metrics, it is objectively true that the likes of LSU, South Carolina and Florida were all ranked ahead of the Aggies. It's also a fact that it's not their fault that the aformentioned higher ranked teams lost early on and didn't take care of business.
The Aggies did.
On top of that, Reed had an outstanding year as his first year of being the full-time starter. Despite some flaws in his game, he improved drastically from his 2024 season and will look to take another step next year. As Reed and Elko's relationship grows, so will the play of Texas A&M.
An underrated part of Elko's strategy lies in the transfer portal: though many five-stars float and enter the portal, Elko goes out and finds pieces that fit within the team. Look at finding wide receivers Mario Craver, Concepcion and tight end Nate Boerkircher— those prove that Elko will more than likely find players that will elevate the program.
Finally, the wins.
It all started with the comeback fourth quarter win against Notre Dame, just months removed from the Irish playing in the College Football National Championship. Then, the revenge tour continued as the Aggies closed out Auburn, had a second half stomping against LSU at Death Valley and capitalized on a 28-point comeback win against South Carolina.
So thus far, the highs of the Elko era have reached new program heights and the lows have been repeat mistakes and stinging losses but all in all, the 12th Man should be excited in what's in store.