The Texas A&M Offense Has Run Out of Excuses

Through four weeks of the 2026 season, the Texas A&M Aggies are 2-2 and on a two game losing streak, a far cry from the results many were expecting entering a critical season.

What appeared on the surface as a season for head coach Mike Elko and his program to build on their historic success from last year, has quickly devolved into weekly soul searching for what the identity of this roster is.

The time is up for the offense to have any excuses for the struggling play, and with a third of the season done, changes have to be made, or the 2026 season will be remembered as a total waste.

Problems are Bigger Than Marcel Reed

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko speaks with a member of his coaching staff during a time-out in the fourth quarter against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kyle Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It's easy to stand back and point fingers that the fault of the struggling offense stems from quarterback Marcel Reed. Groans based off his performance are fair. He's a returning quarterback who has been part of the program for multiple years, and at one point during the 2025 season, was in consideration for the Heisman.

The struggles, however, are seen from every point of the offense, starting at the designed play calling. There was a play in the loss to the LSU Tigers where Reed took way more than a three-step drop, and it gave the defensive ends free rein to chase downfield, and turning a seven-yard pass, into 14-yards.

That's something that just can't happen, and with a quarterback already struggling with accuracy, making throws harder is the opposite of what should be happening. Offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins, and quarterbacks coach Joey Lynch, are failing to help Reed, providing a tougher burden to a struggling signal-caller.

However, passing the ball is just one half of an offense, and the running game, which was a big piece of their success last year, is still struggling. The Aggies rank 50th or lower in college football in key rushing categories: Yards per rush (No. 72), rushes per game (No. 50), rushing yards per game (No. 62).

The inability to supplement a struggling passing game has proven detrimental, and some of it starts with a struggling offensive line, placing the burden on every position. Reed is being sacked 5.44 percent of the time, which ranks No. 61 in the country. It's an uphill battle to create movement at the line of scrimmage.

The Aggies have plenty of problems, but they can't all be pinned on Reed. The time for excuses has run out, now the problems either get fixed, or this is just who the team is for the rest of the season.

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