Texas A&M has taken a lot of strides under Mike Elko since his arrival in College Station, but the one area where fans continue to levy criticism is the ability of his teams to finish the season strongly. Let's call a spade a spade: the Aggies' record in November and later under Elko (4-6) needs improvement, especially when you consider that he's 15-1 in September and October.
Now, there are some caveats that need to be stated here, of course: a disproportionate number of the Aggies' hardest games have come down the stretch of the season in both of Elko's first two years. But especially considering that November record entails two losses to Texas, a flourishing program at the end of the year is something that Aggie fans will be hoping to see this season.
Unfortunately, taking a look at Texas A&M's schedule, even if the Aggies do begin to peak at the close of the season, it will be difficult to properly gauge thanks to a slate that again saves the toughest games for the close of the year. Not only is this section of the year the most difficult for the Aggies— it's one of the most difficult from any team for the entire year.
New metric shows Texas A&M's November slate as second toughest in the nation
CFBNumbers on X ran the calculations, and the result shows that the Aggies' slate of games in November is the second-hardest of any team in the nation, with only Missouri exceeding them in this category:
Toughest schedules by month according to my consensus preseason power ratings pic.twitter.com/YQh9gVO7aM
— CFBNumbers (@CFBNumbers) August 27, 2026
If you compare the raw average opponent ratings, it's the fifth-hardest month for any team throughout the entire year— that's no joke. Two of those games are on the road, as well, which only compounds how tough this is going to be for the Aggies.
The Aggies' slate starts with a road trip to South Carolina, where the Gamecocks will be looking to avenge last year's painful loss in Kyle Field. The Aggies' last trip to Columbia, SC, didn't go so well, as the then-tenth-ranked Aggies got blown out by LaNorris Sellers and company.
Then, Texas A&M comes home to play Tennessee in their annual blackout game, before heading to Norman, OK, to take on the Sooners in what could be a matchup of the two best defenses in the SEC. Of course, the Aggies close the month with the Lone Star Showdown, which will thankfully take place in Kyle Field this year.
That's one heck of a run for the Aggies, and hopefully they can stay the course through this very difficult slew of opponents. But, if the Aggies aren't quite playoff-caliber, it does portend an artificial late-season slide— if A&M enters November with one loss or fewer and then go .500 against that slate, it will look again like they failed to rise up down the stretch.
Of course, the opposite could be true: Texas A&M could enter November guns blazing and take no prisoners during this run. That's what Aggie fans are hoping to see, of course. But the data, as of right now, shows that that is going to be a difficult proposition indeed to accomplish.
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