ESPN FPI sees Texas A&M finishing high in SEC order; why Aggies could play spoiler

Texas A&M football fans and ESPN's FPI ratings have not always been the best of friends. The FPI usually has the Aggies slotted lower, thanks to its formula, than other objective metrics like SP+ or even the KFord ratings.

However, the proprietary metric of the Worldwide Leader is looking favorably upon the Ags this year, at least in the preseason. By those numbers, the Aggies were the number 8 team upon initial release, and they'll have a chance to climb even higher early in the season with their showdown against Notre Dame in week 3.

Along with the pure ratings, though, there's also projections about possible outcomes. FPI calculates each team's probability to win the conference, make the playoff, make the national championship, etc., and the Aggie faithful should be happy with those projections as well.

Texas A&M football predicted to finish 4th in SEC by ESPN FPI

Texas A&M is predicted to finish 4th in the conference in the fall of 2025, which is higher than many have them in their subjective projections.

The percentages are really close for the Aggies and Tennessee, and that has a lot to do with the respective schedules of those teams. If the Aggies finish up in 4th, though, that's a true testament to just how good of a season they will have had— their conference schedule is no cakewalk.

It would also mark a first since the Aggies joined the SEC, barring an extremely unlikely outcome: an A&M head coach finishing with a winning conference record each of his first two years. Even with Johnny, Kevin Sumlin only managed a 4-4 mark in the SEC in 2013, and Jimbo did the same in 2019. Elko got to 5-3 last year in the SEC, and this would likely require a 6-2 mark or better.

It's not out of the realm of possibility that this comes to pass, realistically. The Aggies' reloaded receiver corps will play a big part in what they do this fall, especially if they surprise some people, and the progression of Terry Bussey in particular will be key.

Add to that a retooled back end on the defense, now under the purview of Lyle Hemphill, and this could be one of the most dangerous teams in the entire country. The hype is slowly building around this squad, and for good reason: the Aggies have a shot at being one of the biggest stories in the nation next year.