Prepare yourselves, folks: The war for the Southeastern Conference is just beginning. Coming off a bye week after a monumental victory over then-No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 9 Texas A&M football begins its SEC homestand with an afternoon skirmish against the gritty Auburn Tigers.
The relaxation for the Aggies this past weekend was a well-earned rest, as coach Mike Elko’s squad has been unrelenting on offense since their season opener against UTSA. Three straight 40-plus-point victories have jumpstarted the Maroon and White to a stellar start to their year, something they hope to keep going against the Tigers.
Auburn, however, will aim to bounce back after dropping its first contest of the season in a close battle with then-No. 11 Oklahoma. The Sooners rattled their former signal caller, junior quarterback Jackson Arnold, by sacking him a whopping nine times, giving the Aggies the green light to focus on rushing the passer.
That’s not to say that Arnold isn’t a threat with his legs, as the Denton native embarrassed Baylor during Auburn’s season opener in Waco as he rushed for a career-best 137 yards. However, graduate defensive tackle Albert Regis is coming off an electric seven-tackle, one-sack performance against Notre Dame and will be hungry to knock Arnold off his rocker.
As for A&M, few pass-catching duos come close to the production level of sophomore and junior wide receivers Mario Craver and KC Concepcion — two players who have made a Texas-sized impact in their first year with the Maroon and White.
Craver has become the envy of all deep threats in the country, averaging an astounding 147.7 receiving yards per game while hauling in two 70-plus yard touchdown scores. The true sophomore joined A&M from Mississippi State and is on pace to have more yards in four games than the Aggie’s leading receiver, Noah Thomas, had in all of 2024.
His counterpart, Concepcion, has made his case for co-WR1 with a terrific 227 receiving yards on just 13 catches, as well as snagging a trio of touchdown passes. His not-so-secret weapon is tremendous speed, something UTSA learned the hard way when the NC State transfer took a punt 80 yards to the house.
The A&M wide receiver corps is even more intimidating when adding sophomore WR Terry Bussey to the mix, but Elko’s defense will have to beware of Auburn’s game-changing sophomore WR Cam Coleman. The once-Aggie commit has been Arnold’s favorite target this season, barely topping Concepcion’s receiving stats with 237 yards off 13 catches and two touchdowns.
Defensively, the Tigers have allowed a fantastic 14.8 points per game, including holding the Sooners’ booming offense to just 24 points. The defensive line is packed with talent, as senior defensive end Keyron Crawford has done it all for his unit with three sacks, a forced fumble and an interception.
A daunting adversary, yes, but redshirt sophomore QB Marcel Reed has proven to critics that he is more than capable of sending defenders into the ground on foot or making them pay with his arm, tallying 10 touchdowns. Any doubts about his ability to sling the rock died with the Fighting Irish’s chances of victory: He capped off a 360-yard passing night with a game-winning touchdown on fourth down to graduate tight end Nate Boerkircher.
Despite falling out of the Top 25 this past weekend, the Tigers have proven themselves against SEC competition. The Maroon and White will have to keep their foot on the gas and overwhelm their opponents early to seize victory. The race to the College Football Playoff begins in conference play, and it’s time A&M stakes its claim as one of the frontrunners in the race for the SEC title.
