After what seemed like a season unprecedented for the Texas A&M Aggie standard that we've come to associate with the team, their fall from grace couldn't have came quicker. After dropping their last game of the season to rival Texas, the Aggies were eager for a bounce-back game against an unpredictable Miami team in the team's first ever home playoff game.
However, these expectations came to a screeching halt rather quickly. The Aggies would only muster a single field goal in front of their home crowd, eventually losing in the final minutes to the Hurricanes, 10-3.
Some people are calling it "the worst 11-2 season of all time", and while I wouldn't be so quick as to label them that, there are a lot of fans and media alike that sense the flukiness of this miraculous season.
After an 11-0 start to the season, Aggie fans were going to see this season as a success no matter how it ended, but I don't think any fan could've predicted the circumstances that they're working with now heading into this offseason.
It all started on December 11th, when Texas A&M's defensive coordinator, Jay Bateman, left to take the vacant head coaching role at Kentucky. A couple days later, and then their offensive coordinator, Collin Klein, also left the program to take over the vacant head coaching job over at Kansas State.
Both coordinators, gone in a matter of days, and the damage was definitely felt considering the crushing end to the season that followed.
While both coordinators were allowed to coach in the team's first ever playoff game, it was a lackluster performance on both sides of the ball. Granted, the Aggie defense shined a lot more than its offense, but if it weren't for the three missed kicks by Miami's kicker, the game would've been all but over before the fourth quarter even started.
Now the Aggies get a full offseason to recuperate and assess matters for the 2026 season, but with two vacant coaching roles needing to be filled, Aggie fans may need to prepare to lower their expectations as the new season inches closer.
In addition to this new coaching carousel, no one can deny the lucky break the Aggies got this season in regard to the schedule makers. In fact, Texas A&M's only conference game against a team in the top-half of the conference was their rival, Texas, whom they lost to in disappointing fashion to close out their regular season.
Next year's schedule is no where near as favorable for the program, with the Aggies having to face top SEC contenders such as Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, just to name a few. The Aggies also host a gritty Arizona State team in the non-conference slate, so the team is almost guaranteed to see some regression next year.
However, the Aggies were no strangers to narratives heading into the 2025 season, either. Entering this season, the narrative was always "the same old Aggies", and Mike Elko and company blew this prediction out of the water. Now with their backs against the wall, we'll really get to see what Elko thinks of this consensus in 2026.
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