COLLEGE STATION – Texas A&M had a breakthrough in 2025 under head coach Mike Elko.
Double-digit wins for the first time since 2012. Seven-plus conference wins in a non-COVID season, a first since 1998. Its first Associated Press poll ranking inside the top three for the first time since 1995. A College Football Playoff bid for the first time.
Advertisement
But even with all those accomplishments, the Aggies fell short of bringing trophies back to College Station. The long streak of seasons without a conference championship grew longer. The dreams of a national championship died in the first round.
For senior safety Marcus Ratcliffe, being so close to reaching those goals made the offseason feel a little longer. But Ratcliffe, his teammates and the Texas A&M fan base don’t have to wait much longer to be back on the field.
The 2026 Aggies season gets underway at 6 p.m. Saturday at Kyle Field against Missouri State.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment since January,” Ratcliffe said this week. “It’s all I can think of.”
Advertisement
ALSO SEE: Mike Elko’s challenge? To keep Aggies among college football’s best
Texas A&M enters the season ranked eighth in the AP poll but the Aggies finished fourth in the SEC preseason media poll behind Georgia, Texas and Mississippi. Only one player, Mario Craver, made the All-SEC coaches preseason first team.
Craver was also the only Texas A&M player to make ESPN’s ranking of college football’s top 100 players, with no room on the list for quarterback Marcel Reed, center Mark Nabou Jr. or any other Aggies. The Longhorns, on the other hand, had four players in the top 15.
“We’re not comfortable,” Ratcliffe said. “We’re not comfortable day in and day out. We’re not comfortable with where people rank us, how people see us. Even with practices, if the defense has a good day, it doesn’t really matter. The next day has to be a good day.”
Advertisement
NO. 8 TEXAS A&M VS. MISSOURI STATE
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
Where: Kyle Field, College Station
TV: ESPN
Radio: 97.5 FM
The Aggies hope Saturday will be their first of more than a dozen good gamedays against a somewhat-mysterious Missouri State team. After making the jump to the FBS level last year, the Bears won seven games and head coach Ryan Beard departed for Coastal Carolina.
Former SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods is the new coach with offensive coordinator Mark Cala arriving from UTEP. Elko said the team has watched film of multiple teams trying to get a read on what the offense might look like.
Advertisement
Ratcliffe said the Bears’ offense could throw anything at the Aggies, similar to the Utah State game from last year. Craver said he expects Missouri State to be physical at the point of attack in a competitive game.
“We definitely want to make a statement, but we’re also taking it game by game,” Craver said. “We want to go out there, execute, play fast, set a tone for the season. But obviously, we’re taking it game by game. We’re not focused on any opponents ahead.”
But the opponents ahead do come quickly. Arizona State in Week 2. LSU in Death Valley in Week 4. Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 8.
Then the November gauntlet of on the road against South Carolina, home versus Tennessee, away versus Oklahoma and then the rivalry game against Texas at Kyle Field.
Advertisement
The Aggies do miss out on playing Georgia and Ole Miss. But like any SEC team, it’s a hard schedule where wins will be earned.
It’s been a long time since Texas A&M has won double-digit games in back-to-back seasons. In fact, the program has done it only a few times. The first was a 10-win 1976 season after 10 wins in 1975. Then the Aggies has four straight years of 10-plus wins under R.C. Slocum in the 1990s.
All of those teams won their first games of the season.
“I feel like sometimes in openers, everyone’s trying to identify is this team going to be good enough?” Elko said. “I know we’re good enough to compete. I know we have enough talent to be in this thing. I know we’re going to have an opportunity. What we have to do is be a team that focuses on what is important to play winning football and then that grows week to week.”
Advertisement
Subscribe
There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.
This article originally published at Uncomfortable Texas A&M ready to make a statement as season begins vs. Missouri State.