The Good, Bad, and Ugly From Texas A&M's Dominant Win Over Missouri State

After a long off-season, the Texas A&M Aggies are finally beginning the 2026 season, looking to replicate the success the program achieved a year ago, when it made the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history.

The journey for the 2026 season begins at home in College Station with the new look Aggies hosting the Missouri State Bears, looking to get off to a smooth start as the roster acclimates to the new faces on both sides of the ball.

With a dominant 50-0 win over the Bears, what stood out in the win, and what causes some concern heading into week two?

The Good - Dominant Defense Returns

Texas A&M Aggies defensive end Anto Saka (14) applies pressure to Missouri State Bears quarterback Skyler Locklear (9) during the first quarter at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There were plenty of questions about what the Aggies' defense would look like in 2026, with so many critical pieces departing the program. Elko, though, known as a defensive coach, knew what he was doing and reloaded the group through the transfer portal.

After holding the Bears to 67 total yards of offense, it finished 10 yards short of the 2025 group's best performance, when they held Samford to 77 yards. It included nearly an identical stat line, with the Bears only completing one more pass than Samford did, and finishing with just seven more rushing yards.

If history offers any comparison, the defense might once again be one of the best in the country, despite the personnel turnover.

The Bad- Average Third-Down Distance

Part of having a successful offense is keeping the game manageable and never falling behind on the sticks throughout the play series. For the Aggies, in the first game, for offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, the offense had an average third-down distance of eight yards to go.

Despite that, the Aggies converted 50 percent of the time, going 5 for 6 on third down from four yards or less, but they converted only once on third down from nine yards or more. While the conversion rate still looks great, the Aggies were able to get away with it in week one.

Continuing that trend as they move deeper into the season, and face better competition, could spell trouble though.

The Ugly - Penalty Problems Return

Head coach Mike Elko watches the first half of play against the Texas Longhorns at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

One of the biggest struggles for the Aggies last season was avoiding penalties and playing a clean game from start to finish, as they averaged 7.4 penalties per game, ranking 117th in the country. To start the 2026 season, the Aggies were called for penalties eight times, including six on offense.

Three of them were completely avoidable as well, with two of them being false starts on the offensive line. The false start penalty may have been taken strategically to offer more room for the punt, which was required after an offensive pass interference call on Isaiah Horton.

Cleaning up the penalties, which have been a problem for the last two seasons under Elko, needs to continue to be addressed, and could be the kryptonite that holds the Aggies back this year.

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