5 things to know about the Aggies

Both the Texas and Texas A&M football teams will be searching for different things Friday at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

Texas A&M is looking to close out an undefeated regular season for the first time since 1994. A spot in the College Football Playoff is all but assured  for the Aggies, but they haven’t yet secured an invitation to the SEC championship game. Meanwhile, Texas is looking for a statement win to put on its resumé that it will hand to the CFP committee. The Longhorns were ranked 17th last week and left on the outside of the 12-team playoff picture.

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Here are five things to know about the Aggies:

Texas A&M wide receiver Ashton Bethel-Roman (3) reacts with quarterback Marcel Reed (10) after scoring a touchdown against Samford during the first quarter Nov. 22, 2025, in College Station. 

Sam Craft/Associated Press

1. Texas must prepare for dual-threat QB Marcel Reed

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed is considered a longshot candidate for the Heisman Trophy. He likely won’t join Johnny Manziel and John David Crow as A&M’s Heisman Trophy winners, but strong performances against Texas and in the SEC championship game could possibly get the Nashville, Tenn. product an invitation to New York.

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MORE: Why Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed is ‘The Gingerbread Man’ and a Heisman contender.

This season, Reed has thrown for 2,752 yards, 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing 61.8% of his passes. He’s averaging 5.1 yards per attempt on the ground. In last year’s game against Texas, Reed was limited to 146 passing yards and an interception. With 60 yards, he was the Aggies’ leading rusher against the Longhorns.

2. Who will be the RB1 for Texas A&M this week?

Will Texas A&M have any of its top running backs against Texas? Leading rusher Rueben Owens II, who was once committed to Texas, didn’t play against Samford. Le’Veon Moss has rushed for 389 yards and six touchdowns, but has missed the last five games. And EJ Smith — the son of Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith — also missed the Samford game, so he wasn’t able to add to his three rushing touchdowns on the season.

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Against Samford, redshirt senior Amari Daniels rushed nine times for 106 yards. He now has 216 yards on the season.

Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko celebrates after a win against South Carolina on Nov. 15, 2025, in College Station.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

3. Texas A&M has flirted with losses during undefeated run 

Texas A&M’s average margin of victory this season is 16.6 points, but that doesn’t mean the Aggies haven’t survived some close calls. In fact, four of A&M’s wins have been decided by six points or less.

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A&M announced itself as a contender with a 41-40 win at Notre Dame on Sept. 13 that featured a game-winning touchdown pass with 13 seconds remaining. The Aggies then held off Auburn and Arkansas while recording 16-10 and 45-42 wins in SEC play. Two weeks ago, they dug themselves out of a 30-3 halftime hole in a 31-30 win over South Carolina.

During head coach Mike Elko’s debut season in College Station last year, A&M was 2-2 in one-score games.

More: How a mother’s sacrifice fueled Daymion Sanford’s rise as a breakout star for Texas A&M

4. Texas A&M is stopping opponents on third and fourth down

What’s one thing that A&M is doing well? Getting opponents off the field on third down. Through 11 games, A&M is thwarting third-down tries at a 78% clip. That leads the nation.

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Teams also aren’t having much success against A&M on fourth down either. Opponents have converted just 41.2% of their fourth-down attempts against the Aggies, which ranks 18th nationally.

5. How often has Texas played Texas A&M?

Even though Texas and Texas A&M didn’t play once for a 12-season stretch between 2012-23, there’s just one team the Longhorns have played more in their history. This will be the 120th Texas vs. Texas A&M game. Texas has played Oklahoma 121 times.

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Texas owns a 77-37-5 lead in the A&M series. One of those wins was last year’s 17-7 triumph in College Station. Texas A&M’s last win in the series came in its last visit to Austin in 2010.