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Texas A&M Football: Previewing the 2017 Football Schedule

By Matthew Bartlett

Nov 27, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; General view of Kyle Field during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2014; College Station, TX, USA; General view of Kyle Field during the game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the LSU Tigers. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2017 Texas A&M football schedule is out, and it’s never to early to get a head start on football. Let’s take a close look at the Aggies non conference opponents and SEC matchups for the season ahead.

Last season came to a disappointing end after a promising start. While the team will look to avoid another disastrous November, the schedule sets up well for an early season surge once again.

Aggie fans that are looking for a great tailgating destination will enjoy the 2017 opener. After hosting UCLA last year, Texas A&M will begin the 2017 season at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

September 2 – @ UCLA
September 9 – Nicholls State
September 16 – Louisiana-Lafayette
September 23 – Arkansas (AT&T Stadium)
September 30 – South Carolina
October 7 – Alabama
October 14 – @ Florida
October 28 – Mississippi State
November 4 – Auburn
November 11 – New Mexico
November 18 – @ Ole Miss
November 25 – @ LSU

Non Conference

After going 4-0 in non conference games in the 2016 regular season, the Aggies open up the year at the Rose Bowl against UCLA. More likely than not, the Bruins will find themselves ranked to start the season.

That hasn’t phased Kevin Sumlin coaches teams in the past. The Aggies are 3-1 in season opening games against ranked opponents under Sumlin. The only loss coming in his first game in Aggieland to Florida in Johnny Manziel‘s first start.

Other non conference games will be against Nicholls State, Louisiana-Lafayette, and New Mexico.

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Conference Games

An odd year means that the Aggies will host both Alabama and Auburn. They’ll also have to hit the road in the season finale against LSU, which will not be played on Thanksgiving Day. Fortunately for Texas A&M, they will only play four true road games outside of the state of Texas.

The Alabama contest seems to be particularly interesting in 2017. Yet again, the Aggies will take on the Crimson Tide smack dab in the middle of their schedule. If Texas A&M is able to defeat UCLA for the second straight year, the matchup with Nick Saban could prove to be yet another duel of undefeated teams. The past few seasons have seemed to fall apart after tough losses to Alabama. Hopefully that isn’t in the cards this year.

However, the most telling stretch of games (again) comes in November. How the Aggies finish this season might be more important than how they start it. The final four games of 2017 are home against Auburn and New Mexico before closing the season on the road against Ole Miss and LSU.

How Sumlin’s team fairs in those games will go a long way in determining how welcome he will be in 2018. The Aggies have lost three straight against Ole Miss and five straight against LSU. The narrative of the 2017 season will most likely fall on the results of those two games.

Next: How Many Wins is Enough in 2017?

What’s your take on the upcoming season? Predict the Aggies 2017 record. Which games are locks and which contests scare you the most? Let us know in the comments, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

***Stats from 12thMan.com***