Texas A&M lost Terry Bussey and Mario Craver to first-quarter injuries against Kentucky, turning its SEC opener into an immediate test of depth.

Texas A&M entered Saturday’s SEC opener against Kentucky with one of those problems coaches love to brag about: too many explosive wide receivers and not enough footballs.

College football has a nasty way of fixing those problems for you.

Before the first quarter against Kentucky was finished, Texas A&M had watched Terry Bussey leave Kyle Field on a cart and Mario Craver require assistance getting off the field. Suddenly, all that receiver depth Mike Elko spent August talking about didn’t look excessive. It looked necessary.

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Bussey’s injury was the scarier of the two.

The junior went down on the opening kickoff after slipping awkwardly while making his return. There wasn’t a violent collision to blame. Bussey simply went down, grabbed his right leg and couldn’t put weight on it afterward. He was eventually carted through the Texas A&M tunnel for further evaluation.

That’s about as bad an opening sequence as an SEC contender can draw up.

There’s no confirmed diagnosis yet, so calling it an ACL, MCL or anything else would be irresponsible. But a non-contact lower-body injury followed by a cart ride is enough to make everyone in maroon uncomfortable.

Then came Craver.

Texas A&M’s star receiver suffered an apparent ankle injury after making an eight-yard reception and having a Kentucky defender roll into the lower portion of his leg. Craver needed help getting off the field, adding another uncomfortable scene to a first quarter that quickly became less about beating Kentucky and more about surviving Kentucky.

Craver entered the season as Texas A&M’s most accomplished receiver after catching 59 passes for 917 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. He was also named first-team preseason All-SEC by the league’s coaches as both a receiver and all-purpose player.

Bussey brings a different kind of value. His speed makes him dangerous as a receiver and kickoff returner, which is why losing him on the very first play carried an especially cruel irony.

This is the part of the SEC sales pitch nobody puts in the recruiting graphics.

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Everyone loves talking about depth until September starts removing players from the depth chart.

Texas A&M may have enough talent to absorb one injury at receiver. Losing two dynamic weapons in the same quarter is different.

Now the Aggies wait for medical answers—and hope Saturday’s SEC opener didn’t come with a price much larger than anything showing on the scoreboard.