It's hard to imagine what Texas A&M Aggies could do for an encore in 2026 without dreaming big.

After they made their first College Football Playoff as an at-large team, how about a playoff run for the Aggies, or their first conference championship since the 1998 Big 12 title? With Marcel Reed returning under center, could the program's first Heisman Trophy since Johnny Manziel be in play?

Before the 12th Man contingent gets too worked up, the eighth-ranked Aggies must be solid when they open the season Saturday night against Missouri State Bears in College Station, Texas.

"It's an exciting time to get out there and see what we are, see what we have and see what we're capable of doing this year," said head coach Mike Elko, who guided Texas A&M to the playoff and an 11-2 record in his second season.

ESPN found that Texas A&M is a top-15 outfit in the nation in returning production and sixth in the Southeastern Conference. That starts with Reed, a dark-horse Heisman candidate to begin the season after he compiled 3,169 passing yards, 493 rushing yards and 31 total touchdowns last year.

He'll be supported by the return of last year's leading rusher Rueben Owens II, who had 639 yards and five touchdowns in 2025 after a foot injury robbed him of most of his 2024 campaign.

"We talk like these kids don't actually stay anywhere, and they do," Elko said. "(Owens has) been here for a while, maybe without it going exactly the way he had mapped it out going via injury and some of those things.

"I think what you have now is finally that healthy, mature version of him that is physically ready to take on the rigors of an SEC season, has had a really, really strong offseason, has logged a lot of reps. ... We're excited for him to be able to go out and maybe finally put his absolute best, healthiest foot forward."

Reed will sling it not only to Mario Craver (59 receptions, 917 yards, four TDs in '25) but also to Alabama transfer Isaiah Horton, a 6-foot-4 target who hauled in eight touchdowns for the Crimson Tide last year.

The other transfer that has people talking is defensive end Anto Saka, who totaled 12 sacks over 33 games at Northwestern.

Before a home game against Arizona State and the start of SEC play the week after that, Texas A&M will entertain Missouri State, which begins its second season at the FBS level and its first under head coach Casey Woods, the former offensive coordinator at SMU.

Woods confirmed that dual-threat transfer Skyler Locklear will be the Bears' starting quarterback following two seasons at UTEP.

"Skyler's a guy that is a great ball distributor," Woods said on the program's official podcast, "and I think that we've got really quality depth at receiver, we've got quality depth at running back. Our tight ends are probably the best unit, I think, in the conference, and then we've got a really quality offensive line that's coming together. So we need somebody that can be back there, get the ball to all of our different playmakers as fast as we can."

Missouri State went 5-3 in its first season in the CUSA and landed 7-6 overall after a bowl-game loss to Arkansas State. An unofficial preseason media poll pegged the Bears seventh out of 10 teams.

Tight end Jeron Askren was among the Bears to receive preseason watch-list recognition after he had 224 receiving yards and five touchdowns as a freshman.

--Field Level Media

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