Texas A&M football: Auburn loss feels worse after latest rankings

Texas A&M football were on the verge of beating Auburn, but blew a 10-point lead in the final minutes. The last CFB Playoff rankings make it more painful.

Jimbo Fisher preached finishing and learning how to win all season long. Unfortunately for Texas A&M football, they didn’t get that message in time for the Auburn game.

Despite Trayveon Williams dominating on the way to 182 total yards and three touchdowns, and the Aggies building a 24-14 lead that held until midway through the fourth quarter, Texas A&M made losing plays and the defense could not hold up to the Auburn passing attack.

The offense had the ball on the plus side of the field with a chance to extend the lead, but Kellen Mond threw a costly interception that shifted the momentum to the home team. Auburn went on to score twice in the final six minutes as the Aggie offense sputtered. Mond had his worst game of the season.

It was painful then. It made me question just how much Fisher was getting through to the kids. It made me question the direction of the program. It made me question how much Fisher can coach up Mond.

It’s even more painful now.

The second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings came out this Tuesday and Texas A&M came in at No. 19 after their win over No. 7 LSU. You could gripe about their position given they only moved from No. 22 to No. 19 after the win, but it’s about the right position for an 8-4 team in my opinion.

The thing that gets me is where the Aggies would be ranked had they taken care of business against Auburn. Florida is the highest ranked three-loss team right now at No. 9. They lost to Kentucky, Georgia and unranked Missouri, all at home. If the Aggies beat Auburn, their only three losses would be to Alabama (on the road), Clemson and Mississippi State (on the road).

Florida has wins over current No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 10 LSU. A&M has that LSU win plus a win over current No. 15 Kentucky. Every way you look at it, had the Ags beat Auburn, their resume would stack up against any three-loss team, and they’d probably have finished the regular season ranked in the Top 10.

It does not do to dwell on the past, but the Aggies will no doubt look back at that Auburn game as an opportunity missed. They would have been in a marquee bowl game, and could have finished near the Top 5 had they won it and some other things fell their way.

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.