Marcel Reed has a clear message for Texas A&M heading into the Texas Week showdown: clean up the small mistakes and trust the process. After seeing how costly mental lapses can be against the Longhorns, the Aggies quarterback believes the answer is less about reinventing the offense and more about staying composed when the game tightens up.

“Going into Texas Week, we don’t need to change anything up,” Reed said to On3’s Pete Nakos. “We just need to stay the course, be the team that we’ve been the whole year. Don’t get tight; don’t change anything. We have to execute. It’s a tough team, especially in a rivalry game. I feel like that game never feels real sometimes, like it’s just a little hazy sometimes.”

“Just going in and doing what we’re supposed to do. Executing, not making mental mistakes. There are a couple of times we made some mistakes in the game, where it’s like, if that never happened, we could have had a big play. But it only takes one. When you mess up that one opportunity, it could change the whole game. Just going in and doing a little thing the right way.”

A&M’s pattern is familiar: stay close, then self-destruct via penalties and missed assignments. That is why Reed’s message matters now: if the Aggies clean up the small stuff, they give themselves a real chance to flip the result.

Texas A&M made several costly mistakes against Texas. The defense allowed big running plays and missed assignments, which helped Texas move the ball easily. Two secondary coverage mistakes allowed Texas to score 14 points.

On offense, the Aggies also hurt themselves with penalties, including a false start and a delay of game on a fourth-and-one sequence. That kind of rookie mistake Reed wants his team to avoid this season against the Longhorns.

In 2024, A&M lost to Texas 7-17. This loss ended their championship hopes for the season. In this game, the team also struggled badly; they failed to score a single touchdown for the first time all season and were shut out in the first half at home for the first time since 2017.

A&M overhauled its offense, and Reed has focused on decision-making and turnover reduction.

Marcel Reed on tackling his mistakes

Reducing turnovers will be very important for Marcel Reed in 2026. Last season, he threw 12 interceptions, and he wants to avoid those mistakes this year. Texas A&M’s offense will also have a new look because offensive coordinator Collin Klein left to become the head coach at Kansas State. Head coach Mike Elko promoted Holmon Wiggins, who has already spent the last two seasons on the Aggies’ staff.

Reed and Wiggins have been studying game film together and working on making smarter decisions with the football. Reed’s personal quarterback coach, Jeff Christensen, said Reed has had a “basically perfect” offseason while preparing for the new season.

“The biggest thing for me is limiting turnovers, especially in critical situations,” Reed said. “That’s the first thing on our championship execution board: win the turnover battle. Eliminating those is going to be crucial for us to win games this year. The game definitely slowed down for me, and I think there are a lot of ways for me to slow it down even more. That just comes with studying and understanding the opponent I’m facing.”

Execution matters now because Texas A&M is still fighting for SEC position and playoff seeding, and Texas is good enough to punish even one loose stretch. That is why Reed’s talk about turnovers is more than a slogan; it is the difference between staying alive and falling behind.

This year will be Marcel Reed and Texas A&M’s real test, as it will be interesting to see if they can finally break their rivalry drought and win against the Longhorns or not.