{"id":386552,"date":"2026-07-25T20:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T20:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/386552\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T20:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T20:45:09","slug":"texas-am-is-not-hiding-from-its-need-to-finally-beat-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/386552\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas A&#038;M Is Not Hiding From Its Need to Finally Beat Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"69\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/tamu\/football\/two-texas-am-football-position-battle-im-watching-closest-during-fall-camp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Texas A&amp;M Aggies<\/a> are coming off of a historic season, but now it&#8217;s time to focus on what is ahead in the 2026 campaign.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6c\">With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/tamu\/football\/texas-am-football-offseason-recap-where-the-aggies-improved-and-where-it-didnt\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">SEC Media Days<\/a> in the rearview mirror, fall camp is starting to take shape, and head coach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/tamu\/football\/why-marcus-ratcliffe-believes-mike-elko-authenticity-wins-over-recruits\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Mike Elko<\/a> and his staff know there is a lot of work to do. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">The Aggies didn&#8217;t lose their first game last year until the regular season finale against the Texas Longhorns. It&#8217;s probably fair to say that most in the fan base would&#8217;ve rather had the first loss of the season come at any other time. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6i\">Once again, the battle with the Longhorns will await Elko&#8217;s squad at the end of the season. Can the Aggies finally get over the hump and take down Steve Sarkisian and his squad?<\/p>\n<p>Taking The Next Step<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kydaxqf255pw6dayxm.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Elk\" title=\"Mike Elk\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"6v\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jul 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas A&amp;M Aggies head coach Mike Elko speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">The loss to the Longhorns last season really shifted everything for the Aggies&#8217; postseason dreams. Instead of what should&#8217;ve been a higher ranking in the College Football Playoff, the Aggies were a seven seed and had to meet the eventual CFP runner-up, the Miami Hurricanes, in the first round.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">If they win that game, the Aggies walk into the CFP possibly playing someone different, which could&#8217;ve led to a different road. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">There&#8217;s a great chance that the matchup with the Longhorns this season will also have playoff implications for both teams. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">To get to where they want the program to go, Coach Elko and his staff understand the importance of this rivalry game. <\/p>\n<p>Changing History <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kydb3ttwmd25485284.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Elk\" title=\"Mike Elk\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"7l\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Jul 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas A&amp;M Aggies head coach Mike Elko speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7p\">There&#8217;s no reason to shy away from the team&#8217;s history against the Longhorns. Since 2000, the Aggies are 3-10 against the Longhorns. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7s\">Simply put, if the team continues with that trajectory, the season is going to be spoiled nearly every year in the final game with the Longhorns. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7v\">So, how do you erase the mindset of what has been the recent record against the Longhorns? That&#8217;s easy; you face it at full speed ahead. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7y\">No one really expected Coach Elko to already have the Aggies playing at an elite level. The game has changed for the better in College Station. Now it&#8217;s time to exorcize any demons that could be holding this program back. <\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kydba6ef3s9ekrzjfh.jpg\" alt=\"Mike Elk\" title=\"Mike Elk\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" class=\"undefined w-full w-full blur-[5px]\" q:id=\"88\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Nov 22, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&amp;M Aggies head coach Mike Elko walks off the field after defeating the Samford Bulldogs 48-0 in a game at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Buvid-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8c\">The season finale with the Longhorns has been circled since the last second went off the clock in their matchup last season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8f\">Talking about winning this game is over. It&#8217;s time for the Aggies to take action. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"8i\">Sign up to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/college\/tamu\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">our free newsletter<\/a>\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AggiesOnSI\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TAMUAggiesOnSI\" rel=\"nofollow\">X<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/tamuaggiesonsi\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a>\u00a0for the latest news.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\">Follow<\/a><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Texas A&amp;M Aggies are coming off of a historic season, but now it&#8217;s time to focus on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-386552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}