2. Finish above .500 in conference play
Since 2011, Texas A&M has finished over .500 in conference play only three times. In 2012, they went 6-2 in that category and finished at 11-2. In 2018, they went 5-3 and finished 9-4. Lastly, in 2020, they went 8-1 in conference play and 9-1 overall. Obviously, 2020 was its own beast because the schedule had to be majorly altered due to COVID-19.
The point of this key is that every time the team won over half of its conference games, the team was within one win of 10 on the season. In college football, anything can happen, and even despite last season’s magical win against Alabama, we can assume that game this upcoming season is the most likely to fall the other way. The next most difficult games will more than likely come against Arkansas, Florida, and Ole Miss. These will all be challenging games, but they should be within the Aggies’ favor.
The final games against Mississippi State, South Carolina, Auburn, and LSU will all of course be competitive, but the Aggies must show little room for error in these games. These will be the most winnable games and assuming non-conference play goes well, these should be must-win games to reach the 10-win mark.