Ranking Texas A&M Football's 2026 Opponents from Easiest to Hardest

Mike Elko returns to College Station for his third season as head coach of the Texas A&M Aggies, fresh off of the team's first bit of College Football Playoff action after an 11-1 regular season in 2025.

After a disappointing and premature end to that season, the Aggies come into 2026 new and improved, with a few extra weapons at their disposal thanks to the transfer portal.

But there is no such thing as an easy season, especially not in the SEC, and the slate has plenty of challenges for the team as they look to return to the CFP, and here is a ranking of Texas A&M's easiest matchups to their hardest.

Ranking Texas A&M's 2026 Schedule

Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed (10) looks to throw the ball during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Citadel Bulldogs

The South Carolina military school doesn't exact have a firm track record when it comes to football, and they finished 4-8 in the 2025 season, which included a 49-0 blowout loss to the Ole Miss Rebels in their lone game against an FBS opponent.

Missouri State Bears

The Missouri State Bears travel to College Station to face the Aggies for the very first time in a battle of maroon to start the 2026 season on September 5.

The team finished 7-6 in the 2025 season, but like The Citadel, did not fare well against FBS opponents, losing their season opener to the USC Trojans by a close score of 73-13, and was followed up two weeks later with a 28-10 loss to the SMU Mustangs.

Arkansas Razorbacks

It was a tough 2025 for the Arkansas Razorbacks, going winless in conference play and firing head coach Sam Pittman following a blowout loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Even if Arkansas had a productive season last year, the Aggies have won 13 of their last 14 against the Razorbacks, and despite last year's offensive shootout in Fayetteville that saw A&M narrowly escape with a 45-42 win, the Southwest Classic's return to Kyle Field shouldn't put too much stress on Mike Elko's squad.

Kentucky Wildcats

Another team that finished in the mid-to-bottom level of the SEC's food chain, the Kentucky Wildcats finished with a 2-6 conference record and a 5-7 overall record in 2025,

Texas A&M and Kentucky's lone meeting on the gridiron came back in 2018, when the Aggies defeated the Wildcats in overtime at Kyle Field.

South Carolina Gamecocks

Last year's game against South Carolina struck quite a bit of fear into the hearts of the 12th Man, with the Gamecocks building a 30-3 lead at halftime, putting A&M's undefeated season in jeopardy.

Thankfully, the Aggies had Marcel Reed and a stellar defense to complete the program's biggest comeback ever and keep the perfect season alive, while South Carolina finished with a 1-7 conference record and 4-8 overall as their loss to the Aggies capped a five-game losing streak.

Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham lost running back Cam Skattebo to the NFL draft after the Sun Devils and was still able to lead the team an 8-5 record with Sam Leavitt at quarterback, even handing the then-No. 7 Texas Tech Red Raiders their first loss of the year.

Now that Leavitt is in the SEC with Lane Kiffin at LSU, the biggest challenge for the team will be all the traveling they have to do throughout the season, having to fly out to London to face Kansas the week after competing in one of college football's toughest environments.

Tennessee Volunteers

Another 2024 College Football Playoff team that failed to repeat that success in 2025, the Volunteers still finished a respectable 8-5 in their fifth year under head coach Josh Heupel.

The Vols scored a 20-13 win over the Ags last time they squared off back in 2023, but A&M was successful in 2016, the last time the two teams met at Kyle Field, and the 2026 game is in College Station, giving the home team the edge as they look to even the all-time score with three.

Ole Miss Rebels

2025 was so close, yet so far in terms of a national championship for the Rebs, and even after an 11-1 regular season, head coach Lane Kiffin jumped ship across the Mississippi River into Baton Rouge with the LSU Tigers.

Nevertheless, Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss led the team through the CFP, finishing just short of the national title game after the Rebels defense gave up a game-winning touchdown to Miami Hurricanes quarterback Carson Beck late in the game.

However, the NCAA denied Chambliss try for a sixth collegiate season, so it will be interesting to see how the team does under new leadership both on the field and on the sidelines.

Oklahoma Sooners

The last time the Aggies faced the Oklahoma Sooners on the gridiron, Johnny Manziel had what many would consider the best game of his time at Texas A&M, and the two former Big 12 schools are finally getting to scrap with each other as SEC schools, with both Marcel Reed and John Mateer returning to their starting quarterback roles for their respective schools in 2026.

Oklahoma finished 10-3 in their fourth season under head coach Brent Venables and fell at home to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Alabama Crimson Tide

From 2019 until he retired after the 2023 season, the Alabama Crimson Tide lost eight games under head coach Nick Saban, the exact same number of games that they have lost in Kalen DeBoer's two seasons as leader in Tuscaloosa since the legend's retirement.

Nevertheless, the Tide still find themselves in the national title hunt year in and year out, and with this year's matchup taking place at Bryant-Denny, this still remains a matchup that the Aggies cannot afford to underestimate.

A&M also was able to snag former Crimson Tide wide receiver Isaiah Horton from the transfer portal, and the young pass catcher will definitely look to stick it to his former university.

LSU Tigers

The consensus winner of the transfer portal.

Texas A&M's trip to Baton Rouge last year was a cake walk in the second half during their 49-25 win, but that shouldn't be expected this year with new head coach Lane Kiffin and new quarterback Sam Leavitt looking to give the Tigers their first 12-team CFP berth and their first national championship since Joe Burrow's legendary Heisman Trophy campaign in 2019.

Texas Longhorns

There has been one reason that Texas A&M has been left out of the SEC Championship game the past two seasons, and it's because of their friends from the Texas state capital aobut 90 miles from College Station.

Since the renewal of their rivalry in the 2024 season, the Aggies have been bested by their in-state rivals both times, including their past meeting at DKR last November that saw quarterback Arch Manning and the Horns spoil their hopes for a perfect season with a 27-17 besting.

The Longhorns just barely missed the 2025 College Football Playoff and showed that they were worthy of a spot with a 41-27 win over the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve.

Texas also stole Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman from A&M in the transfer portal and also added two running backs to give Manning more weapons to work with.

Luckily for the Aggies, the 2026 edition of the Lone Star Showdown takes place in College Station, but as the Horns have shown in the past, that doesn't mean a thing in this rivalry.

Texas A&M opens their season against Missouri State on September 5 at Kyle Field.