Paul Finebaum Names Surprising SEC Team That’s ‘Hard Not To Like’ originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The 2025 college football season is fast approaching, and teams are preparing as fall camp gets underway. Some teams will kick off their season in Week 0 on August 23, while most others will begin the following week or weekend.
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The Texas A&M Aggies will begin Year 2 under head coach Mike Elko on August 30. In his first year, the Aggies finished with an 8-5 record. This season, they are looking to show improvement and aim to become a contender for the College Football Playoff in 2025.
On3’s JD PicKell appeared on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” where he and Finebaum discussed Texas A&M’s performance this season. Finebaum mentioned that the Aggies are hard not to like, and PicKell shared the reasons why he is optimistic about Texas A&M this year.
Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko.Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
“I’ve heard a few people, but nobody as prominent as you, like A&M,” Finebaum said. “They’re hard not to like, in terms of Mike Elko and what he has done, but what is there about A&M that you like so much?”
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PicKell is optimistic about the Aggies this upcoming season due to returning quarterback Marcel Reed. He has them going 10-2 on the year.
“The same thing that I like about LSU, it’s more of a toned-down version,” PicKell said. “They bring back their quarterback in Marcel Reed. They’re top 10 in returning production in all of college football. I think the tricky part in assessing A&M… is well, yeah, A&M historically, and that to me, Paul is where people lose me.”
Reed, who replaced starting quarterback Connor Weigman last season, passed for 1,864 yards and threw 15 touchdown passes, while also being intercepted six times. In addition to his passing abilities, he demonstrated impressive running skills, rushing for 543 yards and scoring seven touchdowns with an average of 4.7 yards per carry.
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ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) ranks the Aggies as the No. 4 team in the SEC this season, behind the Texas Longhorns, Georgia Bulldogs and Alabama Crimson Tide.
Finebaum previously predicted that Texas A&M would win nine games in the upcoming season. While nine wins might seem modest for a true contender, it’s important to note that Texas A&M would have qualified for the SEC Championship last season with that same record. Instead, they finished with an 8-5 record.
If they had won their final game against Texas, they would have advanced to Atlanta to compete for the conference title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
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The Aggies will begin their season against the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners on August 30 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Related: Paul Finebaum Names SEC Contender That Won’t Win 10 Games
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
