Texas A&M football tumbles out of rankings after Alabama loss

By Jeff Shull | Sep 23, 2018

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) /

The AP and USA Today Coaches polls were released on Sunday, and the voters didn’t have a lot of sympathy for the Texas A&M football’s early losses.

Texas A&M football didn’t have an easy September. They still have one game to play in a neutral site contest with Arkansas, but going up against the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country already was a tall order for the month. They lost a nail-biter to Clemson at home and had the brakes beat off them on the road at Alabama.

Also. 5 takeaways from Aggies loss to Alabama. light

Their close loss and two blowout victories were enough to gain the attention of the AP and USA Today Coaches polls for Week 3. They were ranked No. 22 in both. However, they fell way down the rankings after the 45-23 loss to the Tide.

Based on the “other’s receiving votes” numbers, the Aggies are No. 31 in the AP poll and fell all the way to 37 in the Coaches poll.

Look, I understand the Aggies don’t have a “marquee” win on the season. It’s absolutely a fair point to make. But it’s hard for me to take these polls seriously if you’re actually watching Texas A&M play football. It seems to me they are simply looking at results. The eye test does not scream 37th ranked team in the country.

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They gave Clemson all they could handle and truthfully played well enough to win. They had some turnovers, one by a backup quarterback in the game due to injury, and one where the refs incorrectly overturned the call on the field to a fumble out of the end zone, that ended up being a key difference in the game.

They did get blown out by Alabama on the road, but Bama might be one of the best teams ever. They earned 60 of 61 first-place votes in the AP Poll and 61 of 64 first-place votes in the Coaches poll this week.

As the season plays out and Texas A&M earns wins against some or all four of the ranked opponents remaining on the schedule (with one more lurking in South Carolina), the rankings will sort themselves out, but I have to call out the Coaches poll for one thing. How in the world is Virginia Tech still ranked? They lost to Old Dominion by 14. Old Dominion was 0-3 and lost to Liberty by 42 points last week.

Somehow A&M drops 15 spots for losing to No. 1 Alabama. Virginia Tech dropped 14 after losing to Old Dominion. Explain that one.

With Texas and Texas Tech making a leap into the rankings, it definitely stings a little to see A&M fall out, but the above note about Virginia Tech shows why early-season rankings mean exactly squat. Kellen Mond and the crew will look to bounce back this week in Dallas.

Next. Players of the game from Alabama loss. dark

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Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.