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Texas A&M’s rollercoaster 2024 season left fans with mixed emotions. After spending most of the year as SEC contenders, the Aggies stumbled down the stretch to finish 8-4 in the regular season — just one win shy of their first SEC Championship appearance.
The disappointment didn’t end there. A&M’s Las Vegas Bowl collapse against USC saw the Trojans pour on 21 fourth-quarter points, prompting a frustrated Mike Elko to deliver a blunt assessment. The first-year head coach called out his team’s pass defense and issued a straightforward challenge to “get better at football” before next season.
"We are now where we need to be from a culture standpoint, now we have to become a good football program"
— Tyler Shaw (@TylerShawSports) December 28, 2024
Watch Mike Elko's full Las Vegas Bowl postgame comments: https://t.co/ipeaIlvpBH pic.twitter.com/NH7Y9LS0yX
Despite the late-season stumbles, the progress A&M made in Elko’s debut campaign should worry SEC opponents. With a favorable 2025 conference schedule ahead, the Aggies could be poised to take the next step in Year 2 of the Elko era.
Texas A&M 2025 football schedule
| Date | Opponent |
|---|---|
| Aug. 30 | UTSA |
| Sep. 6 | Utah State |
| Sep. 13 | at Notre Dame |
| Sep. 20 | Bye |
| Sep. 27 | Auburn |
| Oct. 4 | Mississippi State |
| Oct. 11 | Florida |
| Oct. 18 | at Arkansas |
| Oct. 25 | at LSU |
| Nov. 1 | Bye |
| Nov. 8 | at Missouri |
| Nov. 15 | South Carolina |
| Nov. 22 | Samford |
| Nov. 29 | at Texas |
Road rivalry showdowns bookend a manageable SEC slate
Looking at the 2025 schedule, the Aggies face potential playoff contenders Notre Dame and Texas on the road, but the rest of the slate looks surprisingly favorable. The bye weeks couldn’t be better positioned — one after the Notre Dame trip and another before the November stretch run.
Death Valley looms as the only truly intimidating road environment outside of those two marquee matchups.
South Carolina will draw plenty of attention after derailing A&M’s 2024 season, but most of the conference schedule features teams that finished in the bottom half of the SEC standings last year.
Let’s be clear — it’s still the SEC. No game is a gimme. But if the Aggies can steal one or two of those spotlight games, they’ll be right back in the championship conversation.
Week 3: Revenge opportunity in South Bend
Last year’s season opener against Notre Dame lived up to the hype. The Aggies’ defense kept them in it until the final minutes when the Irish punched in a late touchdown to seal a physical victory in College Station.
Both teams will look different this time around — plenty of NFL departures on both sides — as A&M heads to Notre Dame Stadium to face a team fresh off a national championship appearance. This early-season test will reveal a lot about whether Elko’s “get better at football” mandate has taken hold.
Week 5: Auburn comes to Kyle Field
The Aggies’ SEC opener brings immediate redemption opportunity against an Auburn team that torpedoed their championship dreams last November. A&M dug a 21-0 hole in Jordan-Hare before mounting a furious comeback that fell short in overtime.
Now the Tigers visit College Station, giving Texas A&M a chance to set the tone for their conference run. With the game following a bye week, expect Elko to have his squad fully prepared to establish the home-field advantage that Auburn enjoyed last season.
Week 8: Southwest Classic returns to campus
After nearly a decade at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (except for the 2020 COVID season), the Arkansas rivalry heads back to a college campus. The Aggies have owned this matchup lately, winning nine of the last 10 meetings.
Fayetteville presents a challenging road environment, but A&M’s recent dominance in the series should give them confidence heading into Razorback territory.
Week 9: Death Valley awaits
LSU will be hungry for payback after the Aggies erased them from SEC title contention with a second-half comeback last season. That victory kept A&M’s championship hopes alive temporarily, but now they’ll face the Tigers in one of college football’s most hostile environments.
By late October, both teams could again be fighting for SEC championship positioning. This matchup might determine whether either team remains in the playoff conversation heading into November.
Week 11: Missouri seeking revenge
The Aggies absolutely demolished a top-10 Missouri team 41-10 last October in one of their most complete performances of 2024. While both teams will have different personnel this time around, the Tigers haven’t forgotten that humiliation.
Coming off a bye week, A&M should be rested and ready, but winning in Columbia is never easy. This late-season road test could make or break their championship aspirations.
Week 12: Gamecocks come calling
If there’s one game Aggie fans have circled besides Texas, it’s this one. South Carolina delivered the first blow to A&M’s conference record last season, snapping a seven-game winning streak. Adding injury to insult, star running back Le’Veon Moss suffered a season-ending leg injury during the contest.
The loss of Moss proved devastating to the Aggies’ offense down the stretch. Both player and team will be looking for redemption when the Gamecocks visit Kyle Field.
Week 14: The Lone Star Showdown
Everything about Texas A&M’s 2025 season could come down to this rivalry finale in Austin. Last year’s home loss to the Longhorns with an SEC Championship berth on the line still stings in College Station.
The questions heading into this matchup are straightforward: Will Elko’s program development be enough to close the gap? And will Texas remain as formidable after significant roster turnover? The SEC Championship implications could once again be massive.
For the Aggies to truly “get better at football” as Elko demanded, there’s no better measuring stick than beating their biggest rival on the road to close the regular season.
