GBH Roundtable: 2026 Texas A&M season predictions

It is mere days until the 2026 Texas A&M football season finally gets underway, as the Aggies host Missouri State at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, at Kyle Field. After months of speculation, all of it is about to become completely irrelevant as actual results begin rolling in.

With that in mind, here’s some more speculation.

The offseason isn’t complete if you aren’t forced to giving a W-L prediction for your team, so that’s exactly what we did with our team of contributors. And coming off of Texas A&M’s first College Football Playoff appearance in team history a season ago, it seems like we’re actually looking pretty darn optimistic. The sign of a budding program, or famous last words? Only time will tell.

Jay Arnold

The third year used to be looked at as the telling year for how successful a coach would be at a given location. In the modern era of college football, I no longer believe that is the case. Mike Elko’s tenure hasn’t been perfect at Texas A&M, but it feels like the program is trending in the right direction. Unfortunately, while the overall trajectory of the program still feels good, I think the record book is going to reflect a step back in 2026. While I love the receiver room and think Texas A&M can still be explosive offensively, I worry about the combination of an offensive line largely built on portal additions in their first year on campus and a first-year play caller at the helm for the offense. Toss in an extremely difficult schedule, and I think Texas A&M comes up short of the playoff in 2026. I’m looking at a 9-3 record for the Aggies this season.

Record: 9-3
Postseason Destination: Citrus Bowl

Stringsays

As with last year, I don’t know that I have a prediction for this year. But the floor for this season is 9 wins in my view. Anything less than that will be disappointing. A&M has historically been an 8-4 program. Going to a 9-3 program would be transformational and I believe we can do that. I believe we have to do that.

Elko came here and in his opening presser didn’t give us platitudes about winning championships, rather he kind of focused on a question of “why hasn’t A&M gotten to where they want to go?” I think he’s taken significant strides to address that over the past two years.

This year is a big one. A&M has not strung together two good seasons since 1997-1998. 30 damn years where the year after a good year we’ve found a way to disappoint.

We’re a top 15 team this year and that too has historically been an issue for A&M. But at some point you have to move past being the lovable underdog or the little engine who could. We need to rise to the level of high expectations. Meet them and exceed them. Embrace expectations. Embrace pressure. YOU CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT HAVING TOO MUCH ON YOUR MOTHERFUCKING PLATE WHEN THE GOAL WAS TO EAT.

9 win floor. Get it done. Whatever happens after that post season is what it is.

George Kopf

Three games will be the catalyst for this A&M season: at LSU, at Alabama and vs. Tennessee. The Aggies will be 3-0 going to Baton Rouge, but that’s a tough test – A&M hasn’t won back-to-back games in Tiger Stadium since ’92 and ‘94. I think they win and will be 7-0 going into Tuscaloosa, but a tough environment and good team beats the Ags. The season will be determined in November, a stretch that includes three rivals (S. Carolina, OU, and Texas). I’d expect A&M to lose at least one of those games, putting their CFP hopes on life support. It’s not all bad though, as Varsity’s Horns are finally sawed off for the first time since 2010 and the Aggies sneak into the CFP as one of the last teams in.

Record: 10-2
Postseason Destination: Playoff At-Large (will travel in 1st Round)

Cuppycup

My 10-2 prediction last year was close enough that I’m choosing to learn nothing from the experience. The Aggies made the Playoff and proved Mike Elko’s program is ahead of schedule. Now comes the harder part. Doing it again when everyone expects you to.

Marcel Reed should be better after a full season as the guy, and Mario Craver plus Isaiah Horton gives him a receiver group that makes this offense dangerous. The rebuilt offensive line is the obvious concern. Four new starters up front could make September uncomfortable, but there’s enough talent everywhere else to survive some growing pains. Defensively, A&M lost a lot to the NFL. But the secondary should be excellent and Elko has earned some trust when it comes to reloading that side of the ball.

Trips to LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma make another 11-win regular season a lot to ask. I think the Aggies lose two of those, beat Texas at Kyle Field, and return to the Playoff at 10-2.

Record: 10-2
Postseason Destination: College Football Playoff… hopefully with a result that makes the T-shirt worth buying this time.

Robert Behrens

Doing these for several years now has proven to me that despite following this program exceptionally closely, I’m generally terrible at getting these predictions right. It can be maddening, but I suppose it’s also what makes college football great. What we think we know often gets thrown out the window when reality slaps us in the face on Saturday.

I guess that’s a long-winded way of saying that in face of uncertainty about what’s to come, I choose to believe. I know this team lost 10 players to the NFL Draft, including eight players in the trenches. I know you have two new coordinators, including one on offense who is calling plays for the first time. I know Marcel Reed showed struggles down the stretch that raised doubts about his abilities as a top-flight SEC QB. But I also know that A&M brought in four starting offensive linemen from other SEC programs. I know the secondary has the potential to be the best one we’ve seen here in quite a while. I know the receiver room appears more talented than any we’ve had here in recent memory. And perhaps most importantly, I know Mike Elko is still leading this program.

You could make a case for 9-3, or 8-4, and I probably wouldn’t disagree on any particular point. The margins in college football are often exceptionally small. But if you think Mike Elko is truly changing the trajectory of this program, this is the year he truly starts to prove it. 2025 was great, but Jimbo Fisher had one great season. So did Kevin Sumlin. Stacking consecutive seasons is something we haven’t seen here in a long time, and something that needs to happen in order to get this program where Elko and all Aggie fans want it to be.

I choose to believe.

Record: 10-2
Postseason Destination: Hosting a 1st Round Playoff game

What’s your season prediction? Let us know in the comments.