Texas A&M QB1, Marcel Reed, was gasping for every yard against LSU. He completed only 10 of 26 passes for 106 yards, threw an interception, and finished without a touchdown. Now, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit is asking a familiar question about the Aggies that has been constant since 1939. “What’s going on with our guy Marcel Reed and Texas A&M?” Kirk Herbstreit asked Joey Galloway on his September 28 podcast. ” I mean, this is a team that everybody thought they’re for real. Mike Elko, and they’re back to the drawing board, man.”

By the fourth quarter at Tiger Stadium, Texas A&M had already fallen into a 35-6 hole. Reed had been hit, hurried, and largely erased as a running threat.  One of his final moments was when LSU’s Princewill Umanmielen came through. It was Princewell’s seventh sack of the season, and it ended another A&M possession. Reed never found the kind of escape routes that had hurt LSU in previous meetings. That performance was the reason he was eventually replaced by Brady Hart in the fourth quarter as LSU rolled to a 35-6 victory. For a team that had previously made LSU pay with his legs, this was a striking reversal.

“That’s another team that can’t ru5.44n the football,” Herbstreit said. “And Marcel Reed is struggling right now in that passing game.”

There is little to argue with the statistical part of the assessment. Mike Elko’s team produced 106 passing yards and 91 rushing yards, while LSU piled up 506 total yards. Reed’s 38.5% completion rate was particularly damaging.

For one, the Aggies never established enough of a ground threat to force LSU to loosen its coverage. In truth, the defeat has exposed how much the Aggies have depended on Reed’s ability to create something when the original play breaks down.

A year earlier, Reed had tormented LSU with his legs. In the 2025 meeting, he ran for 108 yards and two touchdowns while adding two more scores through the air.

LSU, though, had spent the offseason preparing specifically for the problem of defending a mobile quarterback. This time, the Tigers held Reed to minus-13 rushing yards after sacks and sacked him four times.

“We discussed that in January. This didn’t start this week. That game plan was unique,” Kiffin said after the game. It certainly took some creativity to stop Texas A&M’s run game and Reed, but LSU executed the plan perfectly.

Freshman DT Deuce Geralds had the primary responsibility to handle Reed. He did that with utmost diligence, as he recorded 5 tackles and two sacks. Moreover, when Geralds pushed inside the pocket, Umanmielen manned the outside zone.

For Reed, the pressure is now building. He entered the LSU game after an uneven September. Through three games, he has completed just 59.6% of his passes for 632 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions.

Mike Elko has already acknowledged that his quarterback was pressing. Elko said Reed needed to relax and play rather than feel as if he had to prove himself on every throw.

That is a long way from the quarterback who helped Texas A&M reach its first playoff last season. That 2025 production also helped make him one of the most valuable QBs in the current college football market, valued around $3 million.

But why is a QB who excelled in 2025 suddenly struggling?

Texas A&M lost four starting offensive linemen to the NFL after the 2025 season. The new-look line has had trouble holding its ground, leaving Marcel Reed under pressure on 40% of his dropbacks and leading to a steady stream of sacks.

They have not been able to replace what they lost up front. So, their rushing attack has dropped to 72nd in yards per carry and 62nd in rushing yards per game.

With the run game struggling, Texas A&M has had to throw more often, leaving the offense in too many obvious passing situations. Texas A&M also made changes to its offensive staff for 2026.

Elko brought in Holmon Wiggins as OC and Joey Lynch as QBs coach. But many have questioned how often the offense gives Marcel Reed easy throws. When the pocket starts to break down, there have not been enough quick throws or checkdowns to help him settle in and stay on schedule.

In the Kentucky game, the defense kept bringing pressure up the middle, but Texas A&M did not do enough to take it away. The Aggies could have leaned on quick throws such as slants and hitches to get the ball out of Reed’s hands faster.

Reed was left trying to make difficult throws under pressure, including passes across his body into tight coverage. Two of those throws ended in costly interceptions. That combination left Texas A&M with nowhere to hide in Baton Rouge.

Now, the struggles have reignited the debate over whether Texas A&M needs some radical change. Within a year after its playoff success, and with Mike Elko having a $10.75 million annual contract extension, the Aggies are sliding back to where they were under Jimbo Fisher.