COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS - DECEMBER 20: Marcel Reed (10) of the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half in a College Football Playoff First Round Game at Kyle Field on December 20, 2025 in College Station, Texas. (Photo by CFP/Getty Images) | Getty ImagesThe first official preseason poll of the 2026 college football season was revealed today, and the Aggies are a bit higher than you might have anticipated. Texas A&M will begin ranked No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches Poll.BREAKING: College Football Preseason Coaches Pollhttps://t.co/gnEe967fmHpic.twitter.com/W2xBYGZWYe On3 (@On3) August 4, 2026This makes the Ags the third-highest SEC team in the rankings, behind only No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas. And after A&M had just their second 11-win season this century under Mike Elko in 2025, its not hard to see why. The Aggies are almost among the conferences elite in both blue chip ratio and returning production.However, its worth noting that this is the fourth time A&M has been ranked in the preseason top 10 this century, and the previous times (2013, 2021, 2o22) didnt go particularly well, with the Ags finishing a combined 23-15 in those seasons. As Mike Elko mentioned in his preseason press conference on Monday, this program has struggled with doubling down on success, and that presents the big challenge for this A&M team in 2026. While they lost 10 players to the NFL Draft, there are still only a handful of teams in the SEC better suited to compete for the Playoff than the Aggies. Now they just have to go do it.