What Wins & What Loses The Game For Texas A&M vs. The Citadel

When Texas A&M takes on The Citadel, there will be multiple eyes on this non-conference affair at Kyle Field for several reasons, as it is a great marker in the season to dive deeper into where the players are at the halfway point.

There will be several things head coach Mike Elko wants to see from his crew before hitting the road for a colossal road game in Alabama, then entering the bye week.

Can the offense continue to do what it knows it can do and punch the ball into the end zone as often as possible? Will the defense win at the line of scrimmage and establish itself as one of the most dominant units in college football? Are most of the boxes going to be checked against the Bulldogs in order to sustain success? Here is what might win and lose the game for the Aggies.

Snagging the Win

Mike Elko Texas A&M Aggies. — Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts to a call during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

This all boils down to whether the offense can execute with its biggest stars. Offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins has the perfect week to pull a couple of tricks out of the playbook and be more aggressive with what he wants to try, which could result in breakout plays.

There are plenty of options that he has to use in this game, and with it being a non-conference game, it will be of the essence to score early because it opens the door for quarterback Marcel Reed to continue building that chemistry with his teammates and feel comfortable operating before a heavy slate of games to end the rest of the year.

If Reed is able to have a clean game of football where he is making the right reads in circumstances like the RPO and can have nice exchanges of the football with the running back room, along with finding those open windows, it will set up a solid outing that the bench warmers can have that shot at playing time, which is very possible.

Suffering the Loss

Sometimes, it does not matter what a program’s offense does in a football game; instead, it comes down to making the bigger plays late in the game on defense that swing the game in their favor. Not that this is a game shaping up to be two powerful offenses posting plenty of touchdowns, but given the Aggies' past history against non-conference opponents, it has come down to defense, not offense.

Based on what The Citadel has done on the ground in past seasons, it looks like it could very well come down to stopping the run and not the pass. A&M has numerous returning veterans in the secondary, but that isn’t necessarily the case for the linebacker and defensive line rooms.

The Aggies have returners such as Dezz Ricks, Julio Humphery, Marcus Ratcliffe, Dalton Brooks, and Bryce Anderson who will be locked in with the different coverage techniques. As for the linebackers, it looks like it could be Noah Mikhail and Ray Coney, given Daymion Sanford’s injury. On the line, there is a mix of transfers and returners that will need to apply constant pressure, so there is no worry about an explosive play.

Head coach Maurice Drayton is well aware that he will need to establish the run early, as it has been part of their DNA. The Bulldogs averaged 210.6 yards rushing per game and only 118.67 yards passing, so it seems crystal clear how this game could be lost.

A&M just needs a clean game, and it walks away with a feel-good victory that they can circle back on, be proud of, and replicate in other matchups.

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