Texas A&M’s loss to Missouri signals it’s time for a change at quarterback. I’m at a loss for words. As a Texas A&M fan, I’ve tried to stay positive about this team, and I went into the 2026 season with a semi-positive outlook on the Aggies. That patience is officially gone.

To be clear, I understood the circumstances coming in. The offensive line was changing. The play callers were changing. When you replace double-digit NFL draftees, there’s a lot of new on the roster, and a step back is expected. But at least you had your quarterback.

Marcel Reed is going backward

Say what you want about Marcel Reed going into the year. You can argue he benefited from an easy schedule last season, and he did. But this is not the same player right now.

Last year, Reed would make mistakes, but he’d also give you good flashes. Those flashes were enough to make you believe the offense could be explosive. Reed could create plays out of nothing, and the hope was that A&M could build on that in 2026.

Instead, it’s been 3, 4, 50 steps back. That’s brutal.

And you may say, Tegan, the Aggies are breaking in a new offensive line and new play callers, so what did you expect? Fair point. I expected growing pains. I did not expect this.

In two road games, Texas A&M has put up six points and six points. That’s inexcusable for a program with A&M’s resources and the investment pouring into it. There’s no excuse for this to be the offensive output to show for it.

The defense did its job against Missouri

The most frustrating part is that A&M’s defense showed out against the Tigers. The Aggies held Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons in check. They kept Jamal Roberts quiet until he broke off some explosive plays at the end, once the game no longer mattered. They did their job.

This defense also struggled early in the season, and I don’t want to gloss over that. But I think the Aggies are turning the corner on that side of the ball. When your defense finally gets right and you still can’t win a road game in the SEC, the problem is staring right at you.

The silence on the backups says a lot

Here’s what worries me most. Texas A&M hasn’t turned to Helaman Casuga, the true freshman, or Brady Hart. And frankly, the fact that the staff refuses to pull the plug on Reed makes me think the backup situation is worse than any of us realize.

If the coaching staff believed Casuga or Hart gave this offense a better shot, I’d have to think we’d have seen one of them by now. The quarterback play has been bad enough to warrant it. So either the staff is being stubborn, or the room behind Reed isn’t ready. Neither answer makes me feel good.

Now, I’m not saying a true freshman walks in and fixes everything. I’m saying the current version of this offense has given you two road games with a combined 12 points, and you have to find out what else you have.

This is the make-or-break question for Mike Elko

What’s going to make or break the Mike Elko tenure, and what’s going to make or break this team, is whether Texas A&M can build a competent offense to support a good defense. That’s the whole thing.

A&M has a defense capable of winning games in this conference. That’s not the issue anymore. The issue is an offense that can’t hold up its end on the road, a quarterback heading the wrong direction, and a staff that hasn’t shown any urgency to change it.

I’ll stamp it: Texas A&M needs to give someone else a shot at quarterback. Whether it’s Casuga or Hart, the Aggies have to find out now, because running it back with this version of the offense is wasting a defense that’s playing well enough to win.