The Aggies are having a season for the ages, and there’s a belief around campus that the weeks ahead are only going to get sweeter in College Station.
You would have to go all the way back to 1939 to find an undefeated football champion for Texas A&M, and right now the Aggies show no signs of slowing down.
With Samford and South Carolina next on the schedule, two opponents whose résumés hardly inspire fear, A&M’s next few Saturdays could feel more like exhibitions than SEC slugfests. Samford has managed just one win this season, and the Gamecocks sit 15th in the conference standings. For head coach Mike Elko, the real test looms in the season finale against Texas. Until then, he can afford to keep things steady, keep his team healthy, and keep the engines humming.
But there is more at stake in College Station than just an undefeated season. Hanging in the balance is college football’s most coveted individual prize, the Heisman Trophy.
MORE: Five years after Becoming chased Uga
The last time the bronze statue made its way to the Ford Hall of Champions was in 2012, when Johnny Manziel turned the sport upside down. Now, more than a decade later, another electric Aggie is making a push to join that exclusive club.
Marcel Reed, a sophomore dual threat quarterback with a flair for the dramatic, has thrust himself into the Heisman conversation. His blend of poise, arm strength, and improvisation has given Texas A&M one of the most balanced offenses in the nation.
A lot of people think it is too late in the year for Reed to make a run, but if you are playing your best football in November, people take notice. Reed’s timing could not be better.
Aggies legend Jacob Green, who knows a thing or two about elite talent, is not shy about voicing his belief.
“It’s been a magical season. Marcel Reed is a special young man, he’s smart and a great football player, and he’ll get consideration for the Heisman Trophy, especially if we can finish this thing off and go undefeated,” Green told AllSportsPeople.
That sentiment is echoed by Heisman Trophy Podcast host Chris Houston, who has been tracking Reed’s rise all year. “Reed is the kind of exciting dual threat QB that voters have loved these past 15 years,” Houston said. “With Texas and perhaps the SEC title game looming ahead, he has a chance to play a huge factor in the Heisman race if the Aggies win out.”
It is a fair point. The Heisman has often been swayed by big game moments late in the season. Carson Palmer sealed his 2002 win by torching UCLA and Notre Dame for eight combined touchdowns in November. Why can’t Reed do the same?
The SEC, bolstered by recent realignment, already boasts 27 former Heisman winners, more than any other conference in college football.
If Reed keeps Texas A&M’s perfect season intact, there is every chance that number hits 28 come December 13th.
More college football news:
- Deion Sanders buyout, contract details as Colorado Buffaloes coach
- Was Adidas behind James Franklin's firing? Penn State breaks silence on rumor
- Brian Kelly buyout, contract details as LSU Tigers coach
- Indiana coach Curt Cignetti's salary bump of 2,729% in four years is insane