Texas A&M’s David Olano remains perfect

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – David Olano, one of the brightest stars of Texas A&M‘s 2026 season, added a pair of field goals to help the Aggies crush The Citadel on Saturday at Kyle Field. The senior transfer from Illinois improved to a perfect 11 for 11 on field goals this year.

Olano, a Colombian American, made field goals from 23 yards and 20 yards in the 41-0 victory before a crowd of 101,052.

The SI Midseason All-American is the first Texas A&M kicker to start his career with the Aggies by going 11-for-11 since Todd Pegram started 12-for-12 in 2004. David Olano added five PATs to extend his streak to 77 consecutive PATs made in a row since Nov. 23, 2004, at Illinois.

Double digit Olano

Olano accounted for 11 points, hitting the double digit mark in points for the fourth time this season and 10th of his collegiate career. He is a perfect 35-for-35 on all kicks this season on 24 PATs and 11 field goals. He has missed only one of his 107 career PATs.

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Despite the 11 a.m. kickoff, the Aggies drew more than 100,000 fans to Kyle Field. The announced crowd was 101,052.

Texas A&M’s defense held The Citadel to 183 total yards of offense, limiting the Bulldogs to 43 passing yards. Senior safety Tawfiq Byard and senior linebacker Ray Coney led the Aggies with seven tackles each.

Senior running back Gavin Garcia led the Bulldogs with 46 rushing yards on 16 carries.

“Obviously, we knew from a talent standpoint, we obviously were the better team,” Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. “But that was very unique, very different with some of the different things that they did. It kind of morphs a little bit week to week, too, so we saw some things today that hadn’t even been on tape at all.

“So I thought for the most part, they did a nice job of trying to stay focused. I would like to see us be a little more physical in tackling; but I think that gets your body in some weird positions as you’re trying to figure out where the ball is going and where your fit actually is off of the different mis-directions. I thought for the most part, they did what they were supposed to.”

Highlighted by a career-long 34-yard carry in the third quarter, freshman running KJ Edwards rushed for 116 yards on 13 carries. He’s the first Texas A&M player to rush for at least 100 yards this season. Moreover, his 116 yards were the most by an A&M freshman since NFL star De’Von Achane rushed for 140 yards against North Carolina at the 2021 Orange Bowl.

Freshman receiver Aaron Gregory had six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

“I feel like from the receiver room, for us, of course, we’re still playing at a high level,” Gregory said. “But one of the takeaways for us, that we’ve been trying to, I’ll say, fix is just our blocking down field. Being able to be more physical and being able to go block the dude that’s in front of you, I think we did take a step forward today doing that.”