There's nothing like preseason bowl projections to either raise fans' collective eyebrows or completely infuriate them, as Texas A&M football fans well know. This most recent set of projections from ESPN's Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura is no different, sadly, as they have apparently decided to mail it in when projecting where the Aggies will land.
Well, at least, that's the case for one of them. Bonagura hit the "easy" button when deciding where the Aggies would go, ostensibly, as he has penciled them into the Texas Bowl, just as happens seemingly every single preseason over the last few years.
Schlabach, to his credit, has either actually done his homework on this year's Texas A&M team, who has a chance to really do something special in the SEC, or he's trying to break out of the same old rut that has been going on for the last few years: he has the Aggies in the Citrus Bowl in his projections.
ESPN completely mails it in with Texas A&M's 2025 preseason bowl projection
For all of the jokes about the Aggies and the Texas Bowl, they've only been there twice in the past nine years: in 2019 and 2023. In that span, the Aggies have been selected for the Gator Bowl just as many times— due to a COVID breakout in 2021, however, they were unable to participate.
If Bonagura's projection comes true, however, the Aggies would be facing the BYU Cougars in Houston come bowl season. That's not exactly a matchup that A&M fans would relish, but it's better than some draws we've seen.
Schlabach has the Aggies facing off against Illinois in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Eve. This would mean, based on normal order of selection for SEC bowl teams, that the Aggies would have just barely missed the playoff, coming in around 9-3 prospectively.
That would be a better outcome for the Aggies, though I can't imagine the consternation that would occur if A&M is barely left out of the playoff again after being right on the cut line. If the Aggies get to the 10-win mark, of course, they're all but guaranteed a playoff spot, based on their strength of schedule.
All in all, this isn't a complete insult as much as it is something that fans will just roll their eyes at. It's just passe at this point to project A&M in the Texas Bowl in the preseason.