Texas A&M enters the 2026 season ranked No. 8 in the AP preseason poll, and while that’s a flattering number for a program with legitimate ceiling, there are too many unanswered questions to feel comfortable with it.

Now, I want to be clear: preseason polls frankly don’t matter. As much fun as I had making fun of Texas being the quickest to go from No. 1 to unranked in college football history, at the end of the day, it’s a preseason poll. I don’t take much stock into that.

But I do think A&M is overrated in this spot. And that’s not because I think the Aggies are bad. It’s more because I’m a little bit more optimistic about some of the teams behind them, and there are just a lot of questions with this team heading into the fall.

The roster turnover is primed to be a real problem for Mike Elko

Do I think Texas A&M is well equipped to answer those questions and be a top 10 team in the entire country? Absolutely. But let’s call a spade a spade. You’re replacing four of the five offensive linemen who were productive, high-level guys. The defensive line got completely retooled. You lost your No. 1 corner, linebacker, wide receiver, and running back. That’s a massive amount of production walking out the door in one offseason.

I will state it again: I think they’re still well equipped to answer those questions, but they’re still questions at the end of the day. And the sprinkle on top? Your offensive and defensive coordinators also got replaced. That’s not a minor detail. That’s an entirely new system on offense at least with an entirely new set of key contributors executing it.

Where the Aggies actually should have belonged in the preseason rankings

In my own personal rankings, I have Texas A&M somewhere around 11-15, which I think is more fair and an easier expectation to enter the season with. No. 8 is a little bit high, especially when you look at a team like Oklahoma sitting behind them. I think the Sooners are a little bit better as things currently stand.

And you may say, Tegan, you’re a Texas A&M fan, so isn’t this just you managing your own expectations? Maybe. This team is like the Dallas Cowboys to me, where they continuously get my hopes up just to rip my heart out. But that’s exactly why I’m being honest here.

The ceiling of a top 5 team in the entire country is absolutely there. I don’t think that’s crazy to say. Until then, somewhere in the 11-to-15 range feels right, and No. 8 feels like a number the Aggies will have to earn rather than one they deserve walking in the door.