aggie championship? texas a&M season preview

Year after year; Texas A&M seemingly always disappoints. 2025 was no different in College Station. The group’s historic 11-0 start was ruined by end-of-season back-to-back losses against Texas and Miami, respectively, with the loss to Miami marking one of the group's most embarrassing offensive performances in years. This year, the expectations are high as ever with the Aggies being ranked 8th in the preseason AP poll. Standout QB Marcell Reed returns after a 3200 yard season, but without his top target KC Concepcion, who the Aggies lost to the first round of the NFL draft a year ago. 

Despite the loss of Concepcion, the group still returns elite receiving production. Look for veteran receiver  Mario Craver to step up as the group's WR1, with fellow veteran returner and last year's WR3 Ashton Bethel-Roman stepping up as Reed’s WR2 and main deep threat.

Breakout Candidates: 

WR/RB Terry Bussey: My receiver on breakout watch this year for A&M is former 5-star and Texas native Terry Bussey. Bussey finished his true freshman 2025 season with 18 receptions for 195 yards and a TD to stack on top of that. While those stats won't blow you away, Bussey showed loads of promise and looks to build on his freshman experience in a year where he will be forced to step up and replace KC Concepcion's production from a year ago.

New Starters on the Line: The offensive line is taking a whole new shape this upcoming season with the Aggies losing 4 starters to the NFL draft, including former SEC All-Freshman Chase Bisontis. This didn’t discourage the Aggies, however, who brought in 5 transfers on the offenive line alone, including former LSU offensive line standout Coen Echols, who was formerly ranked as the #5 IOL in the class of 2024 and comes in at a whopping 305 pounds to strengthen Marcell Reed’s interior O-line. 

Defensive Line Losses: The defense took a big hit as well, especially on the defensive line, which especially hurts due to the group's historic sack total from a year ago. The Aggies tallied an historic 43 sacks as a defensive line a year ago. Over the offseason, however, the Aggies lost DT Albert Regis, DT Tyler Onyemin, and most notably superstar EDGE Cassius Howell to the NFL. Howell was the most notable loss of the group, recording 31 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, 6 passes defended, and 1 forced fumble a year ago. 

Who Will Replace Howell?: I predict that Howell’s shoes will be filled by Marco Jones. Jones is a former 4-star sophomore EDGE from the Bay Area and has been impressing the eyes of many throughout camp this and last summer. Jones made headlines as a true freshman after a multi-sack performance in A&M’s 2025 spring game. Joining Jones and returning DE TJ Searcy at DE for Mike Elco’s group is Northwestern transfer Anto Saka. Saka comes in as an immediate impact transfer looking to make an impact on the team's pass rush. Saka has 12 career sacks over 3 seasons; keep an eye on his numbers, as I expect a career high in sacks from the Maryland native and pass rushing specialist. 

Run Game Hangover?: All signs are pointing for the Aggies' lone offensive weakpoint to be their run game. The Aggies lack the depth in the Running Back room that they've had in previous seasons so look for a majority of the offense to rely heavily on the passing game. The three-headed running back monster of Leveon Moss, EJ Smith, and Amari Daniels each left to the NFL over the offseason, leaving former five-star and RB4 from a year ago, Reuben Owens II with an extremely expanded role. If Owens cannot step up, expect consistent struggles for the run game.

Schedule Predictions: The Aggies have a stacked schedule as usual, and I predict them to finish 10-2 and just sneak into the College Football Playoff with key wins against Alabama in Tuscaloosa and Oklahoma at Gaylord. I expect the Aggies to take care of business in Knoxville Week 10, but also predict that the group will fall just short to the Tigers in Death Valley. The game I have circled for this group is obvious. Week 12 at Kyle Field will be the game of the year. I expect the Aggies to put up a fierce fight against their familiar foes from Austin. The final result of that game will come down to Marcell Reed's ability to handle the Longhorns’ pass rush, which has the potential to become historic. If the Aggies keep it close, they should be able to sneak into a playoff spot even with the loss to Texas. Unfortunately, I don’t think that this will be the year when the National Championship is brought back to College Station, but I do believe that the College Football world should not be counting this talented group out. The Texas A&M Aggies are fully SEC and National Championship contenders.