Elko's Aggies ranked No. 8 in AP preseason poll

Preseason polls aren’t necessarily meaningless.

At the very least, they mean that toe is about to meet leather.

That’s certainly something, but beyond that, their value is widely debated and panned from coast to coast.

With that in mind, the Associated Press released its preseason poll on Monday as Mike Elko’s Fightin’ Texas Aggies checked in at No. 8.

On Aug. 8, Texas A&M was listed at No. 8 in the preseason USA Today’s U.S. LBM Coaches Poll.

The Maroon & White will open the 2026 campaign on Sept. 5 against Missouri State at Kyle Field.

That’s just 19 days away.

Elko and the Aggies are, of course, looking to build on a year in which they went 11-2 and reached the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. Prior to 2025, the AP ranked A&M at No. 19 and finished at No. 8 in the media’s final poll.

Comparisons to last season could prove to be, well, meaningless as well.

After all, it’s a new year.

Quarterback Marcel Reed is back for his second full season as A&M’s starter, but he’ll be behind a rebuild offensive line that features four transfers from SEC programs. At running back, Rueben Owens II and Jamarion Morrow headline a talented stable, while the receiving corps of Mario Craver, Isaiah Horton and Ashton Bethel-Roman projects to be among the top in the country.

Defensively, 22-year-old (yes, really) Anto Saka transferred to A&M from Northwestern and will join the pass-rushing forces with Marco Jones and T.J. Searcy as DJ Hicks provides a veteran presence on the interior. Captain Daymion Sanford and returners Noah Mikhail and Jordan Lockhart received reinforcements from Tulsa transfer Ray Coney, not to mention true freshman Tamarion Watkins.

Then there’s the secondary, which the safety-turned-head coach described as the best he has coached at A&M. The defensive backs fighting for time include Dalton Brooks, Tawfiq Byard, Rickey Gibson III, Julio Humphrey, Marcus Ratcliffe and Dezz Ricks, to name a few.

The road to the Playoff gets tougher in Elko’s third year as the SEC introduces its nine-game scheduling model. With it, the Aggies will travel to Baton Rouge, both Columbias, Tuscaloosa, and Norman, while marquee home games in Aggieland include Arkansas, Tennessee, and Texas.

Those Saturdays are so extremely close.

Each of them will be very meaningful.

Associated Press Top 25
 

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1

Italics denotes Southeastern Conference member