Texas A&M football's three toughest games on the 2026 schedule
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Texas A&M marches into the third season under head coach Mike Elko with the offensive firepower to reach the College Football Playoff, but one of the most difficult schedules in the nation could prevent the Aggies from surpassing last year's historic run.
According to CBS Sports, Texas A&M has the eighth-toughest stretch in college football, facing Tennessee (Nov. 14), at Oklahoma (Nov. 21) and closing out the regular season with the Lone Star Showdown against Texas (Nov. 27). The Aggies face five teams ranked in ESPN's preseason top 25, which includes all three teams in the grueling November stretch.
That isn't saying this year's team doesn't have the talent to achieve another 10-win season, however. Elko achieved the No. 4 transfer portal class in the country, per On3 Sports, while hauling in the No. 7 high school class. While the departure of five starting linemen raises some concerns, junior quarterback Marcel Reed will have transfers like Tyree Adams (LSU), Wilkin Formby (Alabama) and Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) with SEC experience protecting him this year.
Will the loss of production in the trenches haunt the Aggies against the difficult conference slate? How will Reed progress as a signal-caller against elite SEC defenses?
Here are Texas A&M's three most challenging opponents in 2026:
1. Texas Longhorns – Friday, Nov. 27, at Kyle Field
Rivalry games with in-state supremacy on the line always hold much higher stakes. For Texas A&M, this year's Lone Star Showdown against the Longhorns couldn't be more important. After dropping the last three contests to Texas, including 27-17 and 17-7 losses under Elko, the pressure on the Aggies to secure their first win in the rivalry since 2010 is immense.
Texas boasts one of the most talented teams of the Steve Sarkisian era entering the 2026 season, which includes a returning Arch Manning and standout transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman. The result of this year's showdown between the two college football powerhouses will be determined by how well Texas A&M's defense can perform against Manning and the Longhorns' electric offense.
2. LSU Tigers – Saturday, Sep. 26, at Tiger Stadium
Texas A&M owns back-to-back wins over LSU, but there is a new sheriff in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who could lead the Tigers back to an elite level. Lane Kiffin became the first coach in college football history to be at the helm of three SEC schools in his career when he made the jump from Ole Miss to LSU and didn't waste any time reeling in the No. 5 portal class in the nation, featuring talented gunslinger Sam Leavitt.
Traveling to Death Valley and escaping with a win is no easy feat, but Elko managed to lead the Aggies to their first road victory against the Tigers last year for the first time since 1994. Despite Kiffin's extrinsic personality, he is one of the elite head coaches in college football. The offensive guru and his talented team are gunning to get back on the right track against Texas A&M in 2026.
3. Alabama Crimson Tide – Saturday, Oct. 24, at Bryant-Denny Stadium
For the first time since 2022, the Aggies are headed to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide. This marks the first contest between Texas A&M and Alabama since 2023, in which the Tide rolled to a 26-20 win. This time around, the Maroon and White will be facing a head coach not named Nick Saban.
While dealing with the backlash of becoming the predecessor of arguably the greatest college football coach of all time, Kalen DeBoer led Alabama to the second round of the playoff last season. The Crimson Tide has many question marks in terms of production entering DeBoer's third year at the helm, including a battle for the starting quarterback position, but they still have the talent to be one of the elite teams in the conference again in 2026. Bryant-Denny Stadium will be an electric factory when Texas A&M rolls into town on October 24.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Texas A&M football's three toughest games on the 2026 schedule
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