Texas A&M football comes in at third overall once more in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, but that was expected by everyone in Aggieland. What was of more interest, given Texas A&M's opponent this weekend, was where their adversaries, the Texas Longhorns, would rank after a win over Arkansas.
The Longhorn faithful had hoped that they may be able to leap Vanderbilt and get up to the 13-14 range, given that they have a head-to-head win over the Commodores. Unfortunately for those in burnt orange, that third loss to Florida is really costing them right now, as Texas remains at 16.
Texas A&M could face completely demotivated Texas team after playoff hopes are completely dashed
Michigan actually leapt the Longhorns after a win over Maryland that was pretty emphatic for the Wolverines. They, Vanderbilt, Utah, Miami, and BYU all stand between the Longhorns and a bid right now.
Given the lack of quality in the ACC this year, things are even that much more complicated for the Longhorns. Miami ranks ahead of them, but the complicating factor is that they no longer control their own destiny to make the conference championship game. The winner of that championship game will get an automatic bid to the playoff, thus poaching a bid from an at-large team who may be in that top 12.
That's not even to mention that there's going to be another conference champion in the fold as well (likely Tulane, James Madison, or North Texas). that means that, to feel safely in the fold, you probably have to be in the top 10 of the rankings when all is said and done.
A win over the no. 3 Aggies would only go so far for the Longhorns in that regard. They would need several of these teams ahead of them to lose— Michigan (who plays Ohio State) Vandy (who plays Tennessee), Utah (who plays Kansas), Miami (who plays Pitt), and BYU (who plays UCF).
One of those is likely to happen. Two are toss-ups, and two are highly unlikely. The road for Texas to make the playoff is extremely long at this point.
How could that affect the game this weekend? Texas A&M has played several teams that have had their collective backs against the wall this year— Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida, LSU, and Missouri have all had that designation applied to them in A&M's games against them. Yet, they've never flinched.
This is a Texas team that less has its back against the wall and is more on the outside of the house looking in. That could cause some of the more mercurial members of this roster to lack a little bit of motivation when game time comes around.
This season has not gone at all for Texas how fans had hoped, and even less so for the players. This only solidifies that reality for them, and it could end up costing them a little bit of juice this weekend. Texas A&M still has everything to play for, while Texas's season might as well be over.