The Texas A&M Football Aggies are coming off an up-and-down season in 2021. After starting off the season 3-0, they quickly dropped to 3-2 after two straight conference losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State. They rebounded in a huge way with a program win against the at-the-time No. 1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide, 41-38. The Aggies built off this win and managed to rip off three straight wins after that, taking down Missouri, South Carolina, and then 12th-ranked Auburn.
Up to this point, A&M was sitting at 7-2 and ranked 11th in the nation. A loss against 12th-ranked Ole Miss destroyed any chance of getting to the 10-win mark. They finished out the regular season at 8-4 with a win against Prairie View A&M and a close loss to LSU. The Aggies were selected for the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest but were forced to resign from the bowl after a COVID-19 outbreak among players.
Texas A&M football has not had the chance to experience a 10-win Aggie team since 2012 after they enjoyed an 11-win season in their inaugural season in the SEC.
Having only two 10-plus win seasons in 25 years has made that number a target for Texas A&M. With some key departures on both sides of the ball, a few things need to happen for the Aggies to get to that mark. Here are five keys to Texas A&M winning 10 games in 2022.
5. Sweep the non-conference schedule
Last season, Jimbo Fisher and company went 4-0 in non-conference play. They not only went undefeated against those teams but outscored them 137-20. It’s clear the Aggies are far ahead of other teams not in the SEC, and they need to make sure they don’t overlook those teams. Just one non-conference loss in 2022 could deeply hamper the hopes of a 10-win season.
In 2022, College Station is hosting all four games this season. They start off against Sam Houston State. Okay, this one might be able to be overlooked just a little bit, but anything can happen. In Week 2, the Aggies take on Appalachian State. This could be seen as the non-conference “trap game”. With Miami looming in Week 3, their focus could be elsewhere, but Appalachian State had a respectable 2021 after finishing 10-4. They will field a high-powered offense and could surprise many.
Best non-conference record since 2015
— CFB Home (@CFBHome) June 17, 2022
Alabama 33-2
Georgia 29-2
Minnesota 22-2
Oklahoma State 23-3
Clemson 31-5
Wisconsin 22-4
Iowa 21-4
Kentucky 25-5
LSU 24-5
Ohio State 22-5
Cal 17-4
Texas A&M 24-6
Utah 19-5
Tennessee 22-6
As stated before, in Week 3, the Aggies host Miami. Miami will be the most dangerous non-conference team on the schedule, especially if some players make a jump as expected, which includes budding star quarterback prospect Tyler Van Dyke. With a new head coach in town in Mario Cristobal, the Aggies will surely hope the Hurricanes take their time to get into their groove.
The final non-conference matchup will be in Week 11 against Massachusetts. Massachusetts hasn’t had a winning record this century. That should say enough about this game. The Aggies shouldn’t have a problem with the Minutemen. If these four games can be taken care of, this should allow some room for error during conference play.