Mike Elko has Texas A&M ahead of schedule, but after a CFP stumble and another Texas loss, the Aggies’ next step is about proving they belong.
Texas A&M football isn’t sneaking up on anybody anymore, and Mike Elko knows it.
Entering his third season in College Station, Elko has already changed the temperature around the Aggies’ program. Now comes the harder part: proving last season wasn’t the peak.
Elko recently joined Greg McElroy on Always College Football, and the message was pretty clear. Texas A&M isn’t trying to win a press conference. It’s trying to build something that lasts.
That matters because the Aggies’ 2025 season was both historic and frustrating.
Texas A&M reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, Marcel Reed threw for a career-best 3,169 yards with 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, and transfer edge rusher Cashius Howell became a monster off the edge while leading the SEC in sacks.
That’s progress. But this is Texas A&M, so the standard doesn’t stop at “pretty good.”
The Aggies lost to Texas for the second straight season, then saw their CFP run end at home against Miami in the first round.
That sting doesn’t disappear just because Elko earned a six-year, $69 million extension or because the Aggies are being talked about nationally again.
If anything, it raises the bar.
Elko has the recruiting momentum, the quarterback, the defensive identity and the support of the 12th Man.
Texas A&M also owns the kind of national buzz that turns good programs into dangerous ones.
But the next step is obvious. Beat the rivals. Win the road games. Get back to the CFP. Then do something once you’re there.
READ MORE: Texas A&M’s Run Game Has Something To Prove
Elko has made Texas A&M relevant again. In 2026, the Aggies have to show they’re more than a great story.
They have to become a real threat.
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