Projecting Texas A&M Football’s Spot in the AP Top 25

Where Will Texas A&M Football Land in Top 25?

Sitting at a 4-1 record with two straight wins in impressive fashion over conference foes, it seems a foregone conclusion that voters will wise up to the fact that Texas A&M football is, in fact, one of the top teams in the country. That, combined with the fact that a couple of teams near the bottom of the rankings lost their week 4 games, seems to bode well for the chances for Texas A&M football to once more crack the poll.

Of course, it isn’t the poll that matters when it’s all said and done—it’s the CFP rankings. Those don’t come out for quite a while, and they’re a bit more volatile the further down you get in the rankings, but the fact remains that this is what people put stock in until those eventually come out.

All that preamble done, let’s consider where the Aggies might land come 2 PM ET tomorrow.

So far, #22 Florida has been defeated by Kentucky (who is currently unbanked but ahead of the Aggies in the “receiving votes” category), and #24 Kansas lost to the Austin campus of a system that includes UTSA. As I write this, #17 Duke and #20 Ole Miss are both playing loseable games to teams that currently rank ahead of them, so the result of those will be either neutral or positive for the Ags. Fresno State at #25 will play Nevada later tonight, but based on my limited knowledge of the Mountain West, I think they win that one. Tennessee is ranked 21st but is also playing a loseable game against South Carolina—though I doubt the Gamecocks would leapfrog the Aggies were they to pull off the upset in Neyland.

Pending several later results, I really find it hard to believe that Texas A&M football would rank any higher than #23 come Sunday. If I had to put my money on it, I think they come in at #23 or #24, which are the “well their record is good and they play in a power conference but I really haven’t watched them too much” spots (e.g., those spots are currently occupied by Missouri and Kansas). Of course, there are quite a few teams ahead of the Aggies in the “also receiving votes” category, so it is also conceivable that they are left off. But looking ahead to the matchup with Alabama, it seems like either scenario is a positive: either the Aggies get the chance to once again knock off Alabama as an unranked squad, or the game is one of the few ranked-versus-ranked matchups of week 6!