The Texas A&M Aggies, after an 8–5 finish and a 5–3 conference record in 2024, now stand in the middle of the SEC pack. Head coach Mike Elko is trying to fix just that. There seems to be a new energy around quarterback Marcel Reed, and the receiver room is deeper than ever. To add on, even the offensive line looks rather good.
On paper, this roster could finally push for a College Football Playoff bid. But the path ahead is far from easy. The schedule is something for the ages, and according to a CFB analyst, Texas A&M better be ready.
CFB Analyst Steven Lassan Sounds Off on Mike Elko’s Brutal Second Texas A&M Schedule
College football analyst Steven Lassan, on a recent episode of “That SEC Podcast,” went on to discuss what the Aggies are up against this fall. “I think the thing with this schedule is, there’s really not a weak link here,” said Lassan. And he is right.
Texas A&M has drawn what might be the nastiest quarterback slate in the country. After the Aggies open with UTSA and Utah State at Kyle Field, things get chaotic. But even with UTSA, Lassan added that “Owen McCown for UTSA, also very solid in the season opener.”
After these two matchups, the Aggies hit the road to take on Notre Dame in Week 3. And as Lassan rightly puts it, “No non-conference play necessarily taken into account here, but CJ Carr at Notre Dame is going to be pretty good, I think.” To make things better, that is just the beginning.
In SEC play, it is a quarterback season. The Aggies will face Florida’s DJ Lagway, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, and Texas’s Arch Manning. “Just getting the top four and no real weak links… makes this the hardest quarterback schedule,” added Lassan.
There is no Kentucky on the schedule, but the rest of the slate is not easy. Even Missouri and Mississippi State, considered the “easier” SEC matchups, are not easy wins, especially not with road environments and unpredictable offenses.
As Lassan sees it, “So I just don’t see a ton of easy quarterback matchups on here outside of maybe Utah State and Samford.” So what does this mean for Elko’s squad and their playoff hopes?
Well, it is not easy to be Reed this season. The sophomore QB is showing progress, but if Texas A&M is going to keep pace with these gunslingers, he will have to be at his best. Fortunately for him, the tools are there.
Then, the Aggies have NC State transfer KC Concepcion in the slot. There’s also speed on the outside with Mario Craver and Terry Bussey, plus Alabama transfer Amari Niblack lining up at tight end. Meanwhile, on the O-line, every starter is back, and five-star freshman Lamont Rogers is waiting in the wings.
Le’Veon Moss, who returns from injury, leads a deep running back room alongside Rueben Owens. But talent alone might not be enough to play against some of the best QBs week in, week out.
Lassan summed it up perfectly when he said, “I think on the eye test, just getting the top four and no real weak links, with some breakout candidates mixed in, makes this the hardest quarterback schedule.”
Elko’s defense needs to be airtight, and Reed needs to be ready to match scores with the best. Otherwise, all this momentum and promise might get lost in the shuffle of a schedule that refuses to give an inch.
