Elite #8

Texas A&M

SEC · 2026 preseason baseline

Projection

84.3

SP+ preseason

+20.3

Returning prod.

65%

Recruiting

85%

2026 portal cycle

Net positive on talent-weighted flow.

+1.10z

talent-weighted z-score

applied: +0.22 pts

Top gains

  • 4★ EDGEAnto Saka from Northwestern
  • 4★ CBRickey Gibson III from Tennessee
  • 4★ WRIsaiah Horton from Alabama

Top losses

  • 4★ DLDealyn Evans to Mississippi State
  • 4★ TEAmari Niblack
  • 4★ TETheo Melin Ohrstrom to SMU

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2026 portal cycle. See the full portal leaderboard →

2025 season · final grade

The 2025 season, graded.

C CeilingC

On the projection.

Realized SP+ +20.7 · SP+ rank #9

Projection

76.1

Realized

79.6

Δ

+3.4

Δ grade

C

Ceiling SECONDARY

C

Projection vs realized

Realized 79.6 Projection 76.1

The yellow tick is Texas A&M's August 13, 2025 preseason SP+ rating (+18.3) — the last preseason release before Week 1, from Bill Connelly / ESPN. The dark bar is the final 2025 SP+ (Connelly, post-championship). Both mapped to the 0–100 scale by score = 50 + SP+ × (50/35), clamped [1, 99]. The gap between them is Δ: +3.4. Δ banded A through F gives the letter grade.

What the grade means

A C means Texas A&M finished within a narrow band of the projection (Δ +3.4, band −6 to +8). The season the projection described.

Ceiling grade: C · secondary lens · 14% of upside headroom used. Δ divided by the room Texas A&M had to move (upside if Δ is positive, downside if negative). Ceiling normalizes for projection height: a projection-90 team has 10 points of upside room, a projection-50 team has 50.

The letter grade always records the same relationship: realized minus projection, banded A through F. A team can sit in the Elite tier and still receive a D. LSU in 2025 is that case.

Read the methodology →

Offense (2025)

38.0

SP+ offensive rating

Defense (2025)

16.4

SP+ defensive rating (lower = better)

Nat'l SP+ rank

#9

Final 2025 SP+ ranking

2025 portal cycle (context)

Net negative on talent-weighted flow.

−1.80z

talent-weighted z-score

Top gains

  • 4★ EDGET.J. Searcy from Florida
  • 4★ WRKC Concepcion from NC State
  • 4★ WRMario Craver from Mississippi State

Top losses

  • 4★ QBConner Weigman to Houston
  • 4★ WRMicah Hudson to Texas Tech
  • 4★ WRNoah Thomas to Georgia

Portal moves are weighted by recruiting stars, position (QB and skill positions weighted higher), and eligibility. Withdrawn entrants are excluded. The z-score is normalized across teams appearing in the 2025 portal cycle (context).

Returning production (2025): 75% of prior-year PPA back on the field (Bill Connelly's percentPPA metric via CFBD). This is a narrative reference — the 2025 grade itself is Δ vs preseason SP+ only.