Aggieland is tired of that 8-4 punchline. In 2024, Mike Elko’s crew came out swinging, stacking a 7-1 start and looking like they had playoffs ticket waiting for them. Then? The wheels fell off. A late-season skid left them at 8-5, heads hanging, and fans asking, “What if?” Well, here’s the thing — the Aggies are back, sitting at No. 4 on ESPN’s FPI in the SEC, and one college football voice is waving a big red flag: don’t repeat Ohio State’s blunder.
On August 12th, ON3’s J.D. PicKell hopped on the TexasAgs podcast and didn’t mince words: “I want to get to is the second year under a coordinator. In my experience at least, you go from knowing what to do to then instinctually reacting and just playing football. I think we saw that — Ohio State’s a great example — and Jim Knowles and his defense was extremely complex. So there was maybe some extra learning curve there. But what hurt Ohio State in the previous years of not winning a national championship — say what you want around Kyle McCord — the defense, same situation, let up a lot of explosive plays that kept them from accomplishing their goals.”
He pointed straight at Ohio State’s growing pains under Jim Knowles and said, essentially, “Hey Elko — learn from their year-one mistakes.” PicKell broke it down: in a first year under a new coordinator, guys are still thinking instead of reacting. That’s when the big plays slip through. Ohio State’s 2022 defense was improved but still coughed up explosive plays in their two biggest games — 87 points combined to Michigan and Georgia. That, PicKell said, kept them from their natty goals.
J.D. PicKell doubled down on Jim Knowles’ defensive glow-up: “As time progressed, you see guys get more comfortable, start playing fast and free, which should cut down on those mental lapses, the mental mistakes that lead to the other team’s big plays. So for me, it’s truly a comfortability in the system in the second year that I think will substantially limit a lot of those back breakers.”
By year two, Knowles fixed it. The Buckeyes became a suffocating, assignment-sound machine — No. 2 nationally in scoring defense, No. 3 in yards allowed. By year three? Natty champs. Top-ranked defense in almost every metric, from yards per play (4.19) to points per drive (1.1). PicKell’s message to Texas A&M was clear: Second year in a system? That’s when you cut the mental lapses, play fast, and kill those backbreakers.
Why does this hit home in College Station? Because A&M’s 2024 defense was a classic case of middle-of-the-pack SEC ball. Ninth in scoring defense, 12th in yards allowed, and downright leaky in the secondary — 232 passing yards per game, 20 passing TDs given up, and a rough day in the Las Vegas Bowl. Injuries didn’t help, with Tyreek Chappell and Bryce Anderson banged up, but breakdowns in coverage were a recurring nightmare.
Under Jay Bateman, the Aggies could stop the run well enough and make some plays, but against the Alabamas and LSUs of the world, their defensive cracks got lit up like a Christmas tree. That’s exactly why PicKell’s Ohio State analogy is a lifeline for Elko. The second year under Bateman’s system has the potential to be the leap — if they stop letting opposing QBs drop 40-yard daggers over their heads.
And let’s not sugarcoat it — the SEC doesn’t hand out mercy cards. You fix those explosive plays or you get cooked. Ohio State did it. They went from “good but flawed” to “try and move the ball on us, I dare you.” That’s the blueprint PicKell is practically shoving into Elko’s hands. Now the table is set. The Aggies have enough raw talent to build a top-tier defense with big boys like DJ Hicks and Cashes Howell.What they don’t have? Time to waste. Elko’s second season is the moment to slam that door shut on the backbreakers.
Aggies OC Klien Collin loves shift in Marcel Reed
While the defense gets the cautionary tales, the offense’s buzz is all about QB Marcel Reed’s glow-up. Last year, Reed got tossed into the fire after Conner Weigman’s injury. Eleven games later, he had 2,145 passing yards, 14 touchdowns, and 9 picks, plus 512 rushing yards and 6 TDs on the ground. Not bad for a young gun figuring it out in the SEC pressure cooker.
His legs were a cheat code — keeping drives alive, forcing defenses to spy him, and opening up lanes for the backs. But the offense still hit walls. Third downs? Meh. Red zone trips? Only 52% turned into touchdowns. Penalties and stalled drives killed them against the big dogs.
By the end of 2024, though, Reed had clearly leveled up in the pocket and in his command of the playbook. Offensive coordinator Collin Klein saw it firsthand in fall camp and lit him up with praise this week: “If you give him space, he makes people play eleven on eleven. If you give him space, he’s going to his opportunity to create good plays anytime. fast plays, turns into scrambles or obvious rebrands or whatever. So, I think that component really helps out with some of the pictures and things got to do in defensively. But again, I’ve been so proud of him. Just how Marcel Reed’s developed players all around him.” Translation? His mobility makes defenses sweat bullets, because every snap could turn into a highlight or a headache.
What Klein loves most isn’t just the legs or the arm — it’s the ripple effect. Reed’s growth has raised the level of everyone around him. Receivers are sharper in their routes. Linemen block longer knowing he might extend the play. Running backs find more daylight because linebackers are frozen on the QB.
For A&M, that’s the X-factor. If Reed continues that trajectory — cutting down turnovers, sharpening decision-making — the Aggies’ offense can keep pace with a defense that’s trying to shed its 2024 scars. And if both sides click? That “Texas 8-4” curse might just get buried for good and finally make that playoff jump they deserve.
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