The Texas A&M Aggies enter game week against The Citadel sitting at 3-3, and we already know how that one ends. A&M is going to win. The real question is what comes after it, because the following week brings an Alabama date in Tuscaloosa and a stretch of the schedule that has very little mercy built into it.

Let’s be honest about that 3-3 record, too. Two of those wins came against cupcakes. The third came against a bad Big 12 team that dominated the Aggies for the majority of the game at Kyle Field. That’s not a résumé. That’s a warning sign.

Now, I’m a Texas A&M fan, and this team has a habit of getting my hopes up just to rip my heart out. So I know how tempting it is to circle a couple of upset spots and convince yourself the season can still be saved. I’m not going to do that. Here’s what I think the Aggies need to do instead before facing this tough stretch.

Find out what you have at quarterback

Number one, Texas A&M has to figure out what it has with the young quarterbacks. Regardless of whether you think they’re ready or not, you have to play them.

Marcel Reed is not going to be the Aggies’ starting quarterback for the long term. He is more than likely going to move on and land at a different school by the end of the season. If that’s the reality, every snap he takes from here on out is a snap you could have used to learn something about the guys who will actually be here.

And it doesn’t stop at quarterback. A&M needs to get all of its young players on the field at the key skill positions. Aaron Gregory, KJ Edwards, and Jamarion Morrow need as much playing time as possible, regardless of whether you believe they’re headed for the transfer portal or not.

The one place I’d hold steady is the offensive line. Continuity up front is one of the most underrated parts of building a good offensive line, and I wouldn’t shake that up just for the sake of youth.

A&M has done this style of approach before

If you need proof that this approach can pay off, look at the year Texas A&M went 5-7. That team started Conner Weigman and Evan Stewart as young freshmen down the stretch, and they shocked the world by beating LSU at the end of the season. They took down Jayden Daniels before any of us knew who Jayden Daniels was going to become.

That’s the blueprint. Throwing young players into the fire didn’t save that season, but it gave the program a moment to point to and a real look at what it had going forward.

And you may say, Tegan, you’re basically waving the white flag on the season. Well, look at what’s left. After Alabama on the road, A&M has to go to South Carolina. Then it has to go to Oklahoma. The Aggies still have to play Tennessee at home, and they still have to play Texas at home.

That’s brutal. It’s not going to be easy, and frankly, the record is more than likely not going to be pretty by the time it’s over.

Learning how to win matters more than the final record

My point being, Texas A&M has to start these young players regardless of whether it helps win games this fall. With massive changes expected at the end of the season, it is so imperative that this staff, or whoever is running the show next year, knows exactly what’s on the entirety of this roster.

To be clear, I’m not saying the Aggies should stop trying to win. I’m saying the wins that matter most now are the ones the young guys earn themselves. Those players need to learn how to win football games, especially against the kind of opponents left on this schedule.

The back half of the season is the best evaluation tool this program is going to get. If Texas A&M wants any real chance at a better future, it starts with handing the keys to the young players right now, even if the scoreboard doesn’t reward it.