Florida just gave Texas A&M football a way better shot at the CFP with Ole Miss upset

Texas A&M football just got gifted a wider safety net for the College Football Playoff with Florida's upset over Ole Miss.
Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh (13) runs for a first half touchdown during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]
Florida Gators running back Jadan Baugh (13) runs for a first half touchdown during the first half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, November 23, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun] / Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Texas A&M football came into this college football Saturday looking for some upsets to come down the pike among those teams ranked ahead of them. Well, with only the first window of games done, they already saw a key one happen.

Ole Miss rolled into Florida high on the hog, coming off of a bye week after their huge victory over Georgia. They only needed to win their last two games—against the 5-5 Gators and the moribund Mississippi State Bulldogs—to all but guarantee a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff.

What happened instead was a hard-fought battle that ended up favoring the hometown team. DJ Lagway, maybe the one player singly responsible for the biggest swings in his team's performance in the entire nation, led the Gators to an upset win over the Rebels.

But that's not only a huge result in Gainesville—it caused jubilation in College Station. Here's why.

Florida's upset over Ole Miss gifts Texas A&M football a safety net in College Football Playoff pursuit

Texas A&M football is in the midst of a playoff push in the final few games of this schedule. As of right now, the Aggies are on the outside looking in, sitting tight at the 15th spot in the rankings.

This removes a team formerly ranked ahead of them, as Ole Miss at 8-2 was slotted 9th (thanks to their huge win over Georgia). Now, the Aggies will move up one spot.

Given that it seems likely that the SEC is going to get 4 teams into the 12-team field, this also removes another contender that could have been ahead of the Aggies had they ended the season with 3 losses.

That, therefore, extends the net even further out for the Aggies if they do sustain another loss. Winning out would be ideal, obviously, but it's nice to have this in your back pocket.

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