Are folks ready to say this is the year for Texas A&M? Well, Mike Elko, the steady-hand head coach has the Aggies sitting pretty at No. 19 in the preseason AP Top 25 in his second year. On paper, they’ve got the hype and the schedule built for statement wins. It sounds optimistic until reality hits when you check the fine print on the program’s history. And that’s where the optimism slams headfirst into an inconvenient truth.

On August 13, SEC Numbers Guy dropped an unflattering fact on X regarding Texas A&M. “SEC Teams with NO Road Wins Against Ranked Opponents Since 2014: Texas A&M. That’s it. That’s the list.” In a league that doesn’t spare even its own, the Aggies have somehow gone a full decade without walking into a ranked opponent’s stadium and leaving with a win. Alabama’s done it, LSU’s done it, even rebuilding programs have done it. But A&M is nada since Kevin Sumlin’s time. 

This kind of stat sticks to a program like stubborn Kyle Field mud. Under Sumlin, the Aggies were doing more than just winning on the road. In 2014, they were silencing No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa, shredding No. 9 South Carolina in Columbia, and stunning No. 3 Auburn on their own turf. But those days are gone. Since then, year after year, the Aggies have returned home from big road games with nothing but another ‘what if’ added to the list. This year, the road gauntlet is brutal at Notre Dame, at LSU, and at Texas. Three ranked juggernauts, three opportunities to smash that decade-long curse or watch it get even dustier. 

Last year, Mike Elko’s Aggies hosted Notre Dame in his debut, hanging around until Irish RB Jeremiyah Love ripped off a 21-yard dagger late in the fourth. This time, the rematch is in South Bend, a place where elite defenses thrive and hope goes to die for visiting teams. On October 25, Texas A&M heads into Death Valley to face LSU, a place they haven’t left victorious since 1994. The Tigers will have revenge on their minds after the Aggies’ 38-23 beatdown last season. And then there’s that brutal final game in Austin. 

Not only is Texas ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history, but they’ve got the nation’s attention with Arch Manning at the helm. The stakes are bragging rights, playoff dreams, and probably a lifetime supply of social media smack talk. And there’s also this AP ranking curse that Texas A&M should want to break. 

Can Mike Elko help the Aggies break the AP Top 25 curse? 

Finishing strong isn’t exactly Texas A&M’s strong suit. For the seventh straight year, the Aggies start the season in the AP Top 25, and for the sixth straight year, they’re trying to avoid the same ugly ending. Only once in that span, the 2020 season, have they finished ranked. Every other year has followed the same frustrating script of preseason hype, early momentum, a stumble in the SEC gauntlet, and a quiet slide out of the rankings.

The history is damning. No. 6 in 2021 and 2022, unranked by year’s end. No. 12 in 2019, gone before bowl season. Even last year, ranked 20th in August, nowhere to be found in January. In the SEC, where perception matters almost as much as results, that kind of pattern doesn’t just frustrate fans. It lingers over every big game like a storm cloud.

If Mike Elko’s going to flip the narrative, this is the roster to do it. Marcel Reed leads an offense protected by all five returning linemen, with a deep backfield and fresh receiving talent. The defense, now under Lyle Hemphill, could quietly be the team’s backbone. The droughts, no ranked road wins since 2014, and only one top-25 finish in seven years, are begging to be broken. The question is, will 2025 finally be the year?