Texas A&M's 31-21 home loss to Kentucky was revealing just three weeks into the 2026 season, as third-year coach Mike Elko faces a long list of questions after a brief 7-0 first-half lead ballooned into a 28-7 third-quarter deficit. After a brief comeback attempt, starting quarterback Marcel Reed struggled to find consistency, throwing two interceptions and completing 53% of his passes, and looking out of sync from start to finish.
Texas A&M's defense was equally bad, allowing over 150 yards rushing and two touchdowns, while Kentucky quarterback Kenny Minchey looked virtually unstoppable in the second half, completing nearly 80% of his passes and throwing for two touchdowns, connecting for several explosive passes.
Should this be considered a
program-altering loss? It's too early to tell, but Kentucky was picked to finish close to last in the SEC before the season began, and in Year 3 under Mike Elko, losing games like this, at home nonetheless, is simply unacceptable. Facing LSU in Baton Rouge next week now feels like an automatic loss until this team suddenly fixes its issues on both sides of the ball.
Before the Aggies face the Tigers on Saturday night, here are the updated Pro Football Focus grades after Saturday's stunning loss.
Offense
- TE Kiotti Armstrong — 85.7 offense, 88.8 pass, 67.3 pass blocking, 59.4 run blocking
- WR Mario Craver — 76.3 offense, 77.0 pass, 67.3 pass blocking, 61.0 run blocking
- RB KJ Edward — 74.1 offense, 62.3 pass, 67.7 pass blocking
- OL Lamont Rogers — 73.4 offense. 63.2 pass blocking, 76.1 run blocking
- TE Micah Riley — 70.5 offense, 73.3 pass blocking, 62.4 run blocking
For those wondering, QB Marcel Reed earned an average 56.3 offensive grade and 55.2 passing grade, while the only real positive numbers came in pass protection, with five players earning 73-plus pass protection marks but allowing an astounding 18 pressures and zero sacks.
Compared to his impressive performance against Missouri State, Marcel Reed was just 2/7 on 20-plus-yard passing attempts, while 14 of his incompletions and one of his two interceptions came on short throws 0-5 yards out.
Defense
- DL Landon Rink — 81.8 defense, 79.5 run defense, 73.5 tackling, 65.0 pass rush
- DL Bryce Perry-Wright — 76.6 defense, 61.0 run defense, 68.1 pass rush
- Edge Ryan Henderson — 75.0 defense, 69.4 run defense, 73.0 tackling, 66.6 pass rush
- CB Julio Humphrey — 70.3 defense, 71.2 run defense, 80.1 tackling, 67.2 coverage
- CB Dezz Ricks — 69.5 defense, 69.2 run defense, 78.9 tackling, 66.9 coverage
Texas A&M defense allowed 31 points, 252 passing yards and two touchdowns, and 156 rushing yards and two scores, but outside of cornerback Julio Humphrey, who allowed two receptions for 59 yards, the Aggie cornerback rotation was solid. Dezz Ricks did not allow a reception, while Colorado transfer Tawfiq Byard's debut included just one reception for seven yards.
However, Texas A&M's lack of consistent pass rush, totaling four pressures and three sacks against Kentucky, is worrying, especially knowing that Kentucky's offensive line was beatable compared to the other O-lines the Aggies will face in SEC play. The Aggies also missed 12 tackles, including five from safety Dalton Brooks. Missing 23 tackles over the last two games, AggieYell's Carter Karels pointed out a stat that answers A&M's defensive issues:
Texas A&M has 23 missed tackles (16 on runs) in its last two games: 11 vs. Arizona St. and 12 vs. Kentucky. Nine have come from Dalton Brooks, including five vs. UK.
— Carter Karels (@CarterKarels) September 20, 2026
It helped lead to 301/506 passing yards coming after the catch + 178/271 rushing yards coming after contact.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Notable PFF grades after Texas A&M's 31-21 loss to Kentucky
