No. 6 Texas A&M looks to remain undefeated against Mississippi State
Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed (10) looks to pass down field against Auburn during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Off to a 4-0 start for the first time since 2016, No. 6 Texas A&M is quite pleased with its early season performance.
But perhaps more exciting to the Aggies as they look to remain undefeated on Saturday when they host Mississippi State is that they believe they can play much better.
“I just think the ceiling for this team is a lot higher if we could figure out how to go put four quarters together,” coach Mike Elko said.
Texas A&M is also looking for a dominant performance on both sides of the ball after excelling offensively two games ago in a win at Notre Dame before winning with its defense last week against Auburn.
“We won two games without playing our best football, right? And that’s a testament to character, culture and just grinding out wins,” Elko said. “That won’t last forever. That’s not lost on me. But I do think when you go find different ways to win ... it gives you an opportunity to sustain success over long periods of time.”
Quarterback Marcel Reed likes that about the Aggies and believes winning in different ways has built confidence on the team.
“It’s just our togetherness so far this year,” Reed said. “When defense isn’t playing well, offense is carrying them and holding them up. When we’re not playing well, the defense is doing the same that we did for them. So, I think it’s just us being so together and understanding that it’s going to take every single person on the field.”
Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen (2) runs for a first down as Tennessee linebacker Jeremiah Telander (22) looks to make a tackle during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Starkville, Miss., Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. Credit: AP/James Pugh
Reed will try and bounce back after throwing for a season-low 207 yards and an interception last week in his first game this season without a TD pass. He’s working on timing with his receivers after overthrowing them on a handful of plays against Auburn.
“It’s just a work in progress,” he said. “It’s all over the place right now, and people are talking about it. But it’s in our control, and we’re going to get it done.”
This week they’ll face a team coming off its first defeat of the season after Mississippi State (4-1) fell just short in a 41-34 overtime loss against No. 15 Tennessee. It will be the Bulldogs' first road game since their opener at Southern Miss and will be in front of a crowd expected to exceed 100,000.
“Our guys have responded the right way,” coach Jeff Lebby said. “We’ve had a great week of practice and a big opportunity in front of us, and we’re excited about it.”
Texas A&M wide receiver Mario Craver (1) reacts after a first down catch and run against Utah State during the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in College Station, Texas. Credit: AP/Sam Craft
Hey, old friend
The Bulldogs will see a familiar face Saturday in Texas A&M’s leading receiver Mario Craver, who transferred from Mississippi State this offseason. Craver, who had 368 yards receiving last year, ranks second in the country by averaging 119.2 yards receiving a game and leads the Aggies with four touchdown catches.
“(Craver) has had a ton of production for those guys this year,” Lebby said. “For us, defensively, we’ve got to do a good job of tackling and preventing him from making plays in space.”
Shapen’s streak
Mississippi State’s Blake Shapen extended his streak with at least one touchdown pass to 20 games last week, which is the longest active streak in the nation. Shapen, who has thrown for 1,064 yards and eight touchdowns this year, began the streak in 2022.
Elko has been impressed with his performance.
“He’s an extremely talented kid,” Elko said. “He has a really good feel for that system. He’s extremely accurate, which is what you need to be in the RPO system. He’s playing like a seasoned veteran who is very, very comfortable.”
Shapen will try to fine tune things as the Bulldogs look to bounce back this week.
“The small details of the game, whether it’s with the receiver, me, offensive line, whatever it is, we got to execute better,” he said.
Eliminating penalties
Elko is searching for ways to cut down on his team’s penalties after the Aggies had a whopping 13 for 119 yards last week. They have 38 for 309 yards this season, leading Elko to joke that future infractions could help his staff take a Mexican vacation this offseason.
“We started the Texas A&M Football Coaches Cabo Fund,” Elko said. “So what’s going to happen now is every time our players get a penalty, they’re going to contribute to our Cabo Fund. We’ll see if that works.”
Running back Le’Veon Moss is confident they can cut down on those errors if they do one thing.
“Focusing more,” he said. “We just need to focus.”
