Three ‘Ifs’ for the Texas A&M Aggies To Win the 2026 College Football Playoff

By Pune Media On Jul 26, 2025

Three ‘Ifs’ for the Texas A&M Aggies To Win the 2026 College Football Playoff originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Texas A&M football is now +3500 on FanDuel, +4000 according to ESPN, to win the 2026 College Football Playoff championship and the Aggies are entering the 2025 regular season with confidence and hope brewing in the locker room.

While they’re not in the top six, that doesn’t mean they can’t pull together a decent playoff run in 2026. ESPN’s Bill Connelly went through the teams most likely to win the title and gave “ifs” each of them needs to be crowned national champions. Texas A&M, Ohio State, Texas, Notre Dame, and Georgia have three things that need to fall in place.

Texas A&M football quarterback Marcel Reed.Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

“There’s a lot to like about this A&M team,” Connelly wrote. “Quarterback Marcel Reed returns after producing the best QBR of any freshman in the SEC — that’s right, it wasn’t LaNorris Sellers or DJ Lagway. Reed was solid in terms of both run and pass, but the Aggies’ passing game wasn’t very explosive.”

The Aggies need “a bit more pop” to their offense, according to Connelly’s first A&M “if.” With the additions of wide receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver from the Transfer Portal and incoming freshmen wideouts Terry Bussey and Ashton Bethel-Roman, they’ll not only need to replace the top passing targets from 2024-25, but go beyond and add some fire to the offense.

The remaining two “ifs” for Connelly have to do with Texas A&M’s defense.

First, it needs to defend the pass rush better. In 2024-25, the Aggies were 19th in defensive SP+ and 85th in sacks. They need be stronger on the front to match the new depth of the secondary. Connelly believes that transfers Dayon Hayes and T.J. Searcy should pair well with returner Cashius Howell and underclassmen Rylan Kennedy and Solomon Williams.

Lastly, the defense need to limit big plays. Even with cornerbacks Dezz Ricks and Will Lee III and safeties Dalton Brooks and Marcus Ratcliffe, Texas A&M ended up fourth in college football in completion rate allowed.

A 53.3 percent completion rate allowed with a mere 3.7 percent interception rate need to be improved, especially heading into a season where offenses are generally much better across the country than defenses. The Aggies need to minimize the effects of big completions, whether deep passes or limiting the run after catch.

Texas A&M’s season opens at home against UTSA on Aug. 30. Kickoff at Kyle Field is set for 7 p.m. and can be watched on ESPN.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 24, 2025, where it first appeared.

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