On3’s J.D. PicKell has Texas A&M going 9-3 with wins at Alabama and over Texas, but road losses to LSU, South Carolina and Oklahoma may doom its best CFP hopes.
Texas A&M football is about to leave prediction season behind. Before Mike Elko’s Aggies hit the practice field, however, On3’s J.D. PicKell dropped a 9-3 forecast that would produce several unforgettable Saturdays and possibly one deeply disappointing ending.
PicKell, who was one of Texas A&M’s loudest national believers before its first College Football Playoff appearance, doesn’t expect Elko’s third team to match last season’s 11-2 record.
His concern isn’t necessarily the roster. It’s a savage road schedule featuring LSU, Missouri, Alabama, South Carolina and Oklahoma. Texas A&M’s official schedule confirms five SEC trips, including late-season games at South Carolina and Oklahoma.
According to PicKell’s On3 prediction, the Aggies open 3-0 by handling Missouri State, Arizona State and Kentucky at Kyle Field. That’s the comfortable part.
Then comes Baton Rouge.
Texas A&M destroyed LSU 49-25 on the road last season, but PicKell doesn’t see that happening again. With Lane Kiffin now leading the Tigers, he projects a close LSU victory that hands Marcel Reed and the Aggies their first loss.
A&M responds by beating Arkansas and Missouri before PicKell delivers his boldest call: Texas A&M walks into Tuscaloosa and beats Alabama.
That result would put the Aggies at 6-1 and squarely in the playoff race. It would also make what PicKell predicts next hurt even more.
South Carolina blew a 30-3 halftime lead at Kyle Field last season, eventually watching Texas A&M complete a humiliating comeback. PicKell expects the Gamecocks to return the favor at Williams-Brice Stadium, dropping A&M to 6-2.
Wins over The Citadel and Tennessee would restore order before another road test derails the season. PicKell has Oklahoma beating the Aggies in Norman, leaving A&M at 8-3 entering the Lone Star Showdown.
Then comes the twist.
PicKell predicts Texas A&M will beat Texas at Kyle Field for the first time since the Longhorns joined the SEC. That would deliver Elko a rivalry-defining win and send the Aggies into postseason selection weekend at 9-3.
On3 has previously featured PicKell’s analysis of Texas A&M’s 2026 win total and outlook.
Beating Alabama and Texas in the same season should feel enormous. Missing the playoff anyway wouldn’t.
With Reed returning and Texas A&M carrying talent and depth across the roster, 9-3 would be respectable. It could also feel like a wasted opportunity.
That’s the brutal reality facing Elko in 2026: the Aggies are good enough that merely being good may no longer count as success.
