Texas A&M's Fall from The AP Top-25 and Bowl Eligibility Continues

The Texas A&M Aggies are having a season the program would like to forget, and now eight weeks into the year, are just 4-4, and the possibility of missing a bowl game is certainly on the table for how this season is trending.

Thankfully for head coach Mike Elko, the program gets a much-needed bye week, offering plenty of time to regroup, and potentially make some much-needed changes that could offer a breath of fresh air for the rest of the season.

However, it wasn't always this way for the Aggies, and, in fact, the program entered the season with a top-10 ranking. How did they get here, and where do they go from here?

Plenty of Questions Eight Weeks Into the Season

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed (10) celebrates his running touchdown with teammates during the game with Alabama at Saban Field at Bryant Denny Stadium. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Following the 2025 season, which featured one of the best regular seasons in program history and was capped off by the program's first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoffs, it looked like the Aggies were primed to make a run of consecutive successful years under Elko.

That hype was built into the Aggies heading into 2026, as they started the year ranked No. 8 in the country. Following a stunning loss to the Kentucky Wildcats, who have now surged into the top 10, the program dropped to No. 23. The Aggies then found themselves completely out of the top 25 after getting thumped on the road by the LSU Tigers, and have not come close to being back in the rankings since.

It's just year three of the Elko tenure, but the 2025 season is looking more like lightning in a bottle than the beginning of something special in College Station. Outside of that 11-2 season, the Aggies have been 12-9 under Elko, and just 6-7 in SEC play during that same time frame.

This year, the program was tasked with retooling, knowing they would need to refill the roster after losing many critical pieces to the NFL Draft. However, expectations were sky-high surrounding the offense, and the return of quarterback Marcel Reed, who became a name in the Heisman race halfway through the 2025 campaign.

That expected success, though, hasn't yet arrived this season. The offense ranks 113th in the country in yards per game (325), 63rd in points per game (26.4), 127th in yards per play (4.6), and 127th in interception percentage (4.13).

With two ranked teams left on the schedule, barring a miraculous run, the Aggies could find themselves unranked to end the year, a far cry from what was expected following the success of 2025.

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