To this day, it’s still hard to believe that the Texas A&M football team beat the Alabama Crimson Tide.
But what was even bigger was coming out the next week and dominating Missouri, as it showed there is no hangover happening. This season is almost as weird as last year’s season. And though A&M has two losses in the SEC, I believe there really is a chance we can see the Aggies go to the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.
The Texas A&M football team will need some help getting to the SEC Championship game
Jimbo Fisher should have a great week ahead of him — if it took South Carolina a go-ahead touchdown to survive Vanderbilt, I like the Aggies’ chances of winning by three touchdowns against the Gamecocks, especially at home. This will be a very good momentum boost to go into the bye week before the schedule gets tougher with Auburn, Ole Miss, and LSU.
But chaos will happen — teams ahead of A&M are gonna lose. And if the following three things happen, the Aggies might not only be looking at a trip to Atlanta… they could be in the argument for a College Football Playoff spot.
No. 1: Mississippi State has to lose another game
There will be plenty of opportunities for Mississippi State to lose this season. I am not extremely worried about this one, but it needs to happen if the Aggies want a chance to go to Atlanta.
Mississippi State has proven time and time again they are very inconsistent. That said, when they are on, they can compete with a good portion of the country — when they are off they struggle or will lose to Group of 5 teams.
Their end schedule is a little tough. They should route Vanderbilt and Tennessee State but they will have a tough Kentucky coming to Starksville next week then have back-to-back games in Fayetville to play Arkansas then travel to Auburn to play the Tigers. If they survive that, they have to play in the Egg Bowl.
At some point, they should drop another game or this would be a very impressive stretch.
Chances of it happening?: 99.99%
No. 2: The Alabama Crimson Tide need to drop another game
This is where the confidence grows a little smaller.
During Nick Saban’s tenure at Alabama, he has only lost more than one game once. Unfortunately, no team will catch this Alabama team sleeping, as I am sure Saban has them locked in and ready to push for another trip to Atlanta. But as I said before, this season has been weird and honestly, anything can happen.
I would be shocked and also not shocked at the same time if they did lose.
Alabama’s schedule isn’t as tough as it normally is. Maybe Tennessee’s offense could give their defense trouble and some miracle happens (probably not). Then they have the nothing-to-lose LSU Tigers that always have the talent. That said, they have been very inconsistent this year and should pose no threat as they are playing in Tuscaloosa.
NM State? Next.
Arkansas can be an interesting team. If they can find some magic they had at the beginning of the season and if KJ Jefferson has the game of his life they could pull it off but as you read, there are a lot of “ifs” in there.
Auburn is the team that people have most faith in, as they usually find a way to give Alabama trouble. It’s a tall order but it helps that Auburn is home. Anything can happen, so let’s see how it plays out.
Chances of it happening?: 5%
No. 3: The Texas A&M football team still needs to win out
This one is very obvious but necessary.
Texas A&M has a tough final stretch but it’s not as tough as it would be in a normal year. There is no way, especially in the SEC West, that a team with three losses in SEC play would make the SEC Championship game. The only time it happened was 2001 with LSU, but the SEC power has shifted to the West for some time now since then.
A&M has South Carolina, who struggled against the mighty Vanderbilt a week ago. Then, a crucial bye week to prepare for the last part of their schedule. Then, a clash between 2 top 25 teams with Auburn coming to town. After that, they’ll go to Oxford to play the always-tough Lane Kiffin-led Rebels.
Easy rout against Prairie View.
Lastly, a contest that could be somewhat of a trap game against LSU, as they play in Baton Rouge and it will be Ed Orgeron’s last game as head coach.
Chances of it happening?: 75%
I like what could happen if A&M does their job and run the table.
They are ranked 17th now, and as long as Auburn and Ole Miss do not lose, those two matchups could be top-15 games. If A&M takes care of business, they will quietly move back into the top 10. If they make it to Atlanta they should be around the 6-8 area.
If Texas A&M plays and beats Georgia, I believe A&M will be the first two-loss team to make the College Football Playoff.