Texas A&M finally crashes the College Football Playoff, and captain Trey Zuhn isn't shy about expectations ... seeding drama be damned, the goal is to win it all.
The chaos of championship weekend shuffled opinions and sparked endless debates, but one thing never really felt in doubt ... Texas A&M was in.
For the first time since the College Football Playoff launched in 2024, the Aggies are officially part of the chase for a national title.
After flirting with the field back in 2020, A&M finally broke through behind an 11-game winning streak, the greatest comeback in school history, and a defense that leads the country in sack rate.
The turnaround hasn't just been noticed nationally, but it's clearly resonated inside the locker room.
Following Sunday’s CFP Selection Show, offensive line anchor and team captain Trey Zuhn III made it abundantly clear where this team's mindset sits.
"I don't think any of that will really matter when we end up winning it all," Zuhn said, casually dropping a line that would sound like bravado from most players. From him, it landed more like a mission statement.
When Mike Elko took the job in 2024, he was still a relatively new head coach after two decades grinding as an assistant.
Two years later, he's dragged a historically snakebitten program straight into national title contention, wasting no time changing the culture in College Station.
Veteran leaders like Zuhn, fellow captain Ar'maj Reed-Adams, and defensive heartbeat Taurean York have been the vocal backbone of that culture shift.
Their buy-in is obvious, and it's one reason there's real belief that Elko can coach this team deep into January.
Outside the building, most of the talk has centered on whether A&M got hosed with its seeding. Inside? The players don’t seem to care.
They're getting something just as valuable as a higher number next to their name ... a home playoff game at Kyle Field after a season of record-setting crowds and deafening 12th Man energy.
Zuhn, who's been in maroon and white since 2021, has seen the program's lows and now its long-awaited rise.
His unit has been quietly dominant; at full strength, the Aggies' offensive line has surrendered just 10 sacks all season, giving quarterback Marcel Reed time to carve up defenses and fuel the 11-game run.
Can the Aggies muck up Miami? Sure. But ...
Winning four straight in the CFP is a brutal ask. Still, A&M has already shown it can win on the road, come from behind, and finish games in hostile environments.
If the Aggies can take care of the Miami Hurricanes at home, the reward is a pseudo-home showdown with Ohio State in Arlington, a matchup that would feel more like Aggieland North than neutral turf.
For now, though, the message from the captain is simple ... stop worrying about seeding. Texas A&M didn't claw its way into the Playoff just to show up. They came to win the whole thing.