COLLEGE STATION, Texas – On Thanksgiving Day 2025, the Texas A&M Aggies were on top of the world.
The Aggies were 11-0 for the first time since 1992, ranked No. 3 in both the AP Poll and the College Football Playoff rankings, and firmly in the national title conversation.
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With unprecedented modern success already secured, the question buzzing around College Station wasn’t whether this season was special — but just how far it could go.
As it turned out, not much farther.
On Saturday, Dec. 20, the No. 7 Aggies hosted the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes in each program’s College Football Playoff debut.
FULL RECAP: Miami takes down Texas A&M in CFP after late interception in end zone seals gritty 10-3 victory
In a tense, defensive battle at Kyle Field, one late mistake proved decisive.
A&M quarterback Marcel Reed’s interception in the end zone during the game’s final minute sealed a 10-3 loss and effectively slammed the door on the Aggies’ season.
Texas A&M finished the year 11-2 — still one of the most successful seasons in program history, but one that ended with the sting of unmet potential.
Despite the heartbreak, Reed emphasized perspective in the aftermath, noting that his Aggies still crossed off a clear program milestone by making the playoff for the first time.
“This is probably one of the greatest teams I’ve ever played on,” Reed said in the postgame press conference. “The locker room has some memories I’ll have for the rest of my life. I just appreciate every single person that was on this team.”
Wide receiver Mario Craver — who transferred into the program last offseason and quickly became one of Reed’s favorite targets — echoed his quarterback’s feelings about the 2025 Aggies despite the way the season ended.
“This team is a real family,” Craver told reporters. “These guys really accepted me coming in from the transfer portal. I just really love these guys, and it was an honor to play with every single last one of them.”
As feelings of heartbreak were palpable in the immediate moments after the loss, A&M head coach Mike Elko remained optimistic about his team’s future in the press conference.
When a reporter asked him if he hoped to see positive trends, Elko reflected on his first two years, as he oversaw an improvement from 8-5 to 11-2 across his first two seasons as the Aggies’ coach.
“I don’t hope it’s trending [positively],” Elko responded. “It is trending. I see the direction that it’s trending.”
Elko was also quick to admit that there are areas where he still sees room for growth, especially as the Aggies’ last two games have shown.
“We were not an elite program ready to compete for a national championship when we took over; we’re still not,” he added. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to continue to develop this program into what ultimately it needs to become. We’re still in the infant stages of that.”
Veteran leaders on defense also stressed that this season should be viewed as a beginning, not an ending.
A&M safety Dalton Brooks reiterated his coach’s sentiments, stressing that the team’s mission to preserve its culture remains unchanged by the outcome.
“We have to keep the culture,” Brooks said. “That’s a big thing. You have to keep the culture together, keep the players together, and really come back and start rebuilding, just like we did last year.”
Linebacker Taurean York framed 2025 as a crucial stepping stone in the team’s journey to becoming elite. He cited Ohio State, who in 2024 won their first championship under Ryan Day in his seventh year as head coach.
“It’s a foundation setter,” York said. “We have high hopes for our team, but this is only year two, and you’ve got to realize that. College football is a hard world to win in, especially at a high level. This is just the start.”
After taking down the Aggies, Miami will continue its season in the Cotton Bowl, taking on Ohio State on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Kickoff is slated for 6:30 p.m. from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.