Texas A&M football fans won't be watching their team in a conference championship game this weekend, but there's still a lot on the line for Aggie fans this weekend. With the Aggies sitting at the 7 seed in the current playoff rankings, A&M fans are looking for any way for their team to move up in the final rankings— and, believe it or not, there is a path.
The first game that Aggie fans will be watching closely is, of course, the SEC Championship. Alabama and Georgia will be squaring off for the second time this season— this time, in Atlanta, with a conference title on the line.
If the Bulldogs win, they will move up to the second seed, ahead of the loser of the Big 10 championship, dropping the Tide down to the 10 seed— or maybe out of the field altogether, making room for Miami.
Who Texas A&M fans need to root for on conference championship weekend
If the Tide win, however, they will move up ahead of the Aggies without the Bulldogs falling below, which could push Texas A&M down to the 8 spot. That's obviously not ideal, as even though the Aggies would still be hosting in the first round, they'd face the 1 seed in the second round— likely Ohio State.
The other big result that will affect the Aggies' seeding is the Big 12 championship. If the BYU Cougars manage to pull off an upset over the Texas Tech Red Raiders, it could move Tech down below the Aggies. If this occurs in conjunction with a Georgia win, then Texas A&M will be sitting at the 6 spot and hosting Virginia, Tulane, or North Texas.
That would obviously be the most favorable first-round matchup that they could get. In this scenario, they'd play the loser of the Big 10 championship (Indiana or Ohio State) in the second round, before playing one of Georgia/Alabama/Miami/BYU in the semifinals (if they get that far).
In other words, the most favorable path for the Aggies would come about if BYU defeats Texas Tech (and ideally pretty soundly) and Georgia defeats Alabama. If BYU loses, though, the Aggies could still face a decent path, hosting Alabama or Miami in round one before moving on to face Georgia in the quarterfinals.
To my eye, the worst matchups for Texas A&M as far as play style are Oregon and Texas Tech, so keeping them on the other side of the bracket would be ideal. In that vein, the worst outcome would be wins by Alabama and Texas Tech, as that would move Texas A&M down to the 8 seed, meaning they would have to face the one seed (again, likely Ohio State) in the quarterfinals. If they somehow make it past the Buckeyes, they would have to face one of Tech or Oregon at that point.
In short, Texas A&M fans should root for BYU and Georgia wins this weekend. If BYU wins but Georgia loses, it could lead to A&M hosting Tech in round one, which would be electric when it comes to the environment, but worrying from a schematic standpoint. If Georgia wins but BYU loses, Texas A&M still has a decent path.