Aggies tackle portal, retain key QB. ESPN projects a deeper playoff run, proving stability fuels elite contenders.
Texas A&M’s 2025 season felt like two different movies spliced together.
The first half was pure dream sequence: an unbeaten sprint through the fall, national buzz returning to College Station, and a long-awaited ticket punched to the College Football Playoff under second-year head coach Mike Elko.
The ending, though, was a hard cut to reality. A rivalry loss, a playoff exit at Kyle Field, and an offense that suddenly sputtered at the worst possible time.
That whiplash is exactly why the Aggies’ offseason has been anything but quiet.
The late-season issues were clear on tape. The run defense leaked oil, the ground game lost its edge, and the trenches thinned out fast with multiple veterans heading toward the NFL.
Elko’s response wasn’t subtle.
Texas A&M attacked the transfer portal with purpose, stacking depth and experience up front while retaining the most important piece of continuity: quarterback Marcel Reed.
Reed’s return matters more than any single portal addition.
He’s now battle-tested, knows the system, and has felt both the highs of an 11-0 start and the frustration of a playoff loss.
Pairing him with a deeper offensive line and a receiving group led by reliable playmakers gives A&M a much higher floor entering 2026.
That foundation is why ESPN analyst Bill Connelly is buying stock in the Aggies again. In his early College Football Playoff projections, A&M doesn’t just sneak back into the field; it climbs.
Connelly sees Texas A&M earning a stronger at-large seed and hosting a first-round game, a clear sign that national confidence in Elko’s rebuild is growing.
The SEC landscape helps.
The conference remains loaded with talent, but it’s light on certainty. New quarterbacks, new coaches, and shifting rosters mean stability has real value.
Texas A&M, for once, has it. Even on defense, where replacing edge star Cashius Howell looms large, the Aggies moved quickly, adding portal help that has drawn praise across the sport.
Connelly’s hypothetical bracket has A&M hosting Oklahoma State before bowing out in a heavyweight matchup with Texas Tech.
Projections are just projections - January optimism has a way of humbling programs by November - but the takeaway is clear.
Texas A&M is no longer chasing relevance. It’s chasing refinement.
If Elko’s emphasis on the trenches holds and the offense finds consistency late in the year, the Aggies won’t be measured by whether they make the playoff in 2026. They’ll be judged by how long they stay.