Texas A&M's Week 9 bye doesn't come at a perfect time, as the Aggies sit at 4-4 and 1-4 in SEC play, holding zero momentum after falling to Alabama on the road 31-20 in Week 8, while third-year coach Mike Elko's continued support for senior quarterback Marcel Reed has confused the fan base and many of us in the media after witnessing his poor play with little to no improvement.
Much has been said about the Aggies' downfall since Mike Elko signed his massive extension just weeks before A&M's first-round College Football Playoff loss to Miami, while losing to Texas on the road just a few weeks prior now looks like the game that broke the camel's back.
During former coach Jimbo Fisher's six-year tenure, the Aggies were one of the worst road teams
in SEC play, and in Mike Elko's inaugural season in 2024, road losses to South Carolina and Auburn all but ended the Aggies' chances of making the CFP. Last season, Texas A&M's historic road win over Notre Dame, along with SEC road victories over Arkansas, LSU, and Missouri, gave fans hope that the program's previous road woes were over.
The 2025 season now feels like a mirage, as Texas A&M's blowout road losses to LSU, Missouri, and Alabama, combined with last season's loss to Texas, total a 120-49 point differential. Winning on the road takes elite focus, physicality on defense, and efficiency on offense, all of which the Aggies have lacked in nearly every game this season.
Texas A&M's problems this season aren't just on the road, and while this article focuses on those issues, Mike Elko's obvious mistake of elevating first-year offensive and defensive play-callers Holmon Wiggins and Lyle Hemphill has contributed to Marcel Reed's regression and a lack of improvement in consistent areas of struggle.
With four games left against South Carolina on the road, Tennessee at home, Oklahoma in Norman, and Texas at home, it's very tough to find a matchup the Aggies can exploit.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M's 2026 road woes are a symptom of poor coaching
