The Texas A&M football team has stumbled to a 5-2 record so far in 2021. I use the word “stumbled” because the season hasn’t necessarily gone as planned — the Aggies dropped two games but won their version of a midseason Super Bowl against Alabama.
Still, the season is far from over. Just over the halfway point, Texas A&M still has five regular-season games remaining on the docket. Two of those teams are ranked in the AP Top-25.
Today, I’m going to rank each of the Aggies’ remaining opponents by toughness, starting with a walk in the park.
Texas A&M Football Opponent Rankings, No. 5: Prairie View A&M
The Texas A&M football team will take on Prairie View A&M in a confidence-building matchup before they finish the year against LSU. In fairness, Prairie View is one of the better FCS teams in the country, sitting at first place in the SWAC.
No, not the SWC, which A&M was in for years, the SWAC.
That said, the Panthers are sitting at 4-1 with a handful of convincing wins. Unfortunately, their only loss came in 40-9 fashion against the University of Incarnate Word, which is often referred to as the “Alabama of San Antonio.” What makes that joke even more depressing is the fact that they’re not even the best football team in San Antonio. That honor goes to UTSA, which is currently ranked in the AP Poll.
Honestly, I’m getting depressed just talking about this.
Texas A&M should beat Prairie View by a very large total. Anything short of a blowout should have Aggie fans shivering in their boots.
Texas A&M Football Opponent Rankings, No. 4: South Carolina
If not for the FCS team on the Aggies’ slate, South Carolina would be the worst team on Texas A&M’s remaining schedule by a mile. If you want a full description of why I think South Carolina is so bad, check out this post from yesterday. For this post, I’ll give you the reader’s digest.
The Gamecocks have had an up and down year — they actually played a 15th-ranked Kentucky team extremely closely, losing by just six points. That said, they have done virtually nothing outside of that performance.
Texas A&M should not be scared of a team that has struggled against squads like Vanderbilt, Troy, and East Carolina.
Texas A&M Football Opponent Rankings, No. 3: LSU
The LSU game actually looked a lot easier a couple of weeks ago. Turmoil surrounded a program that brought home a national championship just 21 months ago. The head coaching position was in question.
That said, the Tigers put that to rest when Ed Orgeron and the LSU football program agreed to part ways after this season. Now, instead of getting an interim coach, the Aggies will get Orgeron coaching his last game ever for LSU.
LSU is better than a lot of people think — they just knocked off a ranked Florida team last week. This one has “trap game” written all over it.
Texas A&M Football Opponent Rankings, No. 2: Auburn
Auburn is having the most Auburn year ever if that makes any sense. The Tigers seem destined to win eight or nine games on the season and are hovering around the teens of the AP Poll. The only thing they’re missing is a win over a significantly better team.
They’ll have a chance to do this against Ole Miss, my number one team on this list, in their next game on October 30th.
Overall, Auburn is a solid team. They have talent and they’re currently ranked 19th in the AP Poll. Resume-wise, they’re not far off from Texas A&M, with a 5-2 record that holds a pair of losses against solid teams.
Texas A&M Football Opponent Rankings, No. 1: Ole Miss
Ole Miss may not be a national championship contender, but nobody in the country wants to see the Rebels on their schedule this year. Why?
Two words — Matt Corrall.
In my humble opinion, Corrall has been the best quarterback in college football this year. He has thrown for 1,728 yards with 14 touchdowns and just a single interception. He has the Rebels’ offense firing on all cylinders, ranking third in total yards per game in the country.
This is one of the scariest teams in the country and the Aggies have them in three weeks.