Texas A&M ranked No. 19 in Associated Press preseason poll

Underrated? Overrated? Properly-rated?

Only time will tell as Texas A&M is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press’ 2025 preseason poll.

Mike Elko and the Aggies were also ranked No. 21 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.

In 2024, the Aggies opened at No. 20 in the AP’s preseason poll and eventually reached a high-water mark of No. 10 in Week 9 before A&M dropped four of its final five games to finish the season 8-5 and unranked.

Noting the November collapse, the Elko Era’s second season figures to focus on finishing, and the Maroon & White appear to be generating split decisions from coaches and pundits across the nation.

After leading the SEC in scoring a year ago, Collin Klein’s unit returns quarterback Marcel Reed behind one of the nation’s most experienced offensive lines to go along with a running back stable that includes Le’Veon Moss, Rueben Owens II and Amari Daniels. Additionally, the Aggies added KC Concepcion, Mario Craver and Amari Niblack via the transfer portal in an attempt to re-tool the pass-catching weapons at Reed’s disposal.

On the other side of the ball, Elko and Jay Bateman must replace a trio of defensive linemen who were selected in the top two rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft. Still, there is no shortage of options to fill the void left by Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner, with Cashius Howell, Albert Regis, DJ Hicks and true freshman Marco Jones headlining potentially headlining that rotation. Taurean York and Scooby Williams return in the middle of the Aggie defense, with the secondary led by Will Lee III and Marcus Ratcliffe poised to make a leap forward with the additions of Julio Humphrey and Jordan Shaw to go along with Tyreek Chappell’s return from injury.

A&M is one of 10 SEC teams ranked to go along with No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Georgia, No. 8 Alabama, No. 9 LSU, No. 13 South Carolina, No. 15 Florida, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 24 Tennessee.

Five of A&M’s opponents appear in the AP’s preseason poll, including the Longhorns, Bayou Bengals, Gamecocks, Gators and No. 6 Notre Dame. The Aggies will travel to South Bend for their marquee non-conference matchup with the Irish on Sept. 13.

The Fightin’ Texas Aggies open the season against UTSA under the lights at Kyle Field on Aug. 30.

Associated Press Top 25
 

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: BYU 156, Utah 144, Baylor 132, Louisville 90, Southern Cal 64, Georgia Tech 63, Missouri 33, Tulane 23, Nebraska 23, UNLV 21, Toledo 13, Auburn 10, James Madison 9, Memphis 9, Florida St. 8, Duke 6, Liberty 5, Navy 5, Iowa 5, TCU 4, Pittsburgh 3, Army 2, Colorado 1, Louisiana-Lafayette 1.

Italics denotes Southeastern Conference member