5 days faraway from the 13-year anniversary of Johnny Manziel delivering probably the most iconic efficiency in Texas A&M soccer historical past, Marcel Reed gave Mr. Soccer a run for his cash.
Definitely, Manziel’s legendary 253-yard passing, 92-yard dashing, and two-touchdown day on Nov. 10, 2012, got here in opposition to a extra noteworthy opponent. In any case, Manziel ran circles in opposition to a Nick Saban-coached Alabama staff on the peak of its dynasty — not a sub-.500 South Carolina squad underperforming preseason expectations.
Texas A&M additionally needed to endure 30-plus minutes of unhealthy soccer to arrange its crescendo to the most important comeback in program historical past from down 27 factors. Included in that stretch was Reed throwing two interceptions, each of which the Gamecocks transformed into factors.
Nevertheless, Reed’s 439 passing yards and three second-half touchdowns in Saturday’s 31–30 win might carry extra long-term significance than even Manziel’s efficiency in 2012. With this rally in opposition to South Carolina, Texas A&M all however secured a spot within the School Soccer Playoff for the primary time in program historical past.
Sure, the Aggies nonetheless must beat Samford in subsequent week’s customary SEC pre-Thanksgiving cupcake matchup. Six SEC groups face opponents from both the Group of 5 or FCS, and Texas A&M attracts probably the most overmatched of the bunch within the SoCon’s one-win Bulldogs.
Which means reaching 11 wins — a digital golden ticket to the Playoff — is actually a formality. Texas A&M will head into the postseason with some distinctive perception into its mettle and character as a staff.
“We have now an id of who we’re,” Aggies coach Mike Elko stated in his postgame press convention. “If we play to our id, we’re a great soccer staff. …If we begin making an attempt to play a special approach, that’s not us. That’s not who we’re.”
So who’s Texas A&M? That’s a query that has lengthy loomed over a program with out a nationwide championship since 1939.
Manziel’s tenure gave Texas A&M an id constructed on swagger — an exceedingly troublesome trait to pretend. Simply ask the Miami Hurricanes of their many failed efforts to recapture the glory days of the Eighties and early 2000s.
As a result of swagger is hard to fabricate, Texas A&M groups within the final decade have usually lacked an actual id. That isn’t to say the Aggies didn’t discover success below Jimbo Fisher, however they regularly embodied the label “also-ran.”
Even with the bravado that captured public creativeness, the Manziel years by no means produced an SEC Championship Sport look.
The 2025 Aggies’ place in this system’s first SEC title sport isn’t but assured, however shifting to 7–0 on the identical day Alabama suffered its first convention loss and rival Texas was all however eradicated positions them favorably.
On the precipice of a first-ever SEC Championship alternative, Texas A&M can now say it has an id — one Elko defines as “blue collar.”
That stands in stark distinction to the Manziel days. It’s additionally a label that appears at odds with a staff averaging 37.8 factors per sport (twelfth within the nation) behind a dual-threat quarterback.
Nevertheless, Elko emphasizes that physicality and controlling the road of scrimmage outline these Aggies. In 2025, Texas A&M could also be a mixture of early-2010s Johnny Soccer aptitude and Fifties Bear Bryant-era grit.
If the 2025 Aggies can declare a program-first SEC championship and a nationwide title 86 years within the making, Marcel Reed’s efficiency Saturday will probably be remembered in Texas A&M lore alongside the names that constructed this system’s legacy.
