Texas A&M football moved to 4-0 for the first time since 2016 with their win over the Auburn Tigers yesterday. Though the final score left something to be desired by many of the Aggie faithful, the Aggies were statistically dominant.
Of course, not every AP voter is looking at the statistics every time they cast their ballot. What they are looking at, though, is the win-loss record— and the Aggies remained unblemished on a day that many above them did not.
First of all, the Florida State Seminoles took a loss on Friday night at Virginia, so that's one spot that the Aggies will definitely move up as FSU will fall beneath them. The carnage doesn't stop there, though.
Predicting how high Texas A&M can rise in latest AP Poll after upsets abound
The teams ranked third through fifth all lost this past weekend, with Penn State, LSU, and Georgia all falling to ranked foes. Both UGA and PSU lost at home, while LSU lost on the road.
The movement has been negative for the Bayou Bengals for some time, now, as their initial win over Clemson has lost a lot of shine. I think they're a candidate to drop out of the top 10, as Ole Miss seems guaranteed to leapfrog them.
Georgia lost by three to Alabama, and so they should most likely drop to the bottom of the top 10 at the very highest. When Clemson lost to LSU at the beginning of the year, they dropped only to 8th, so I could see a similar situation playing out for the Dawgs.
Penn State lost in overtime to a really good Oregon team, though, so I'm not sure they really fall very far at all. Given that the five teams below them include 1) three losing teams 2) the team that beat them and 3) a team that had a bye week but was four spots below, I think they may only drop one or two spots when all is said and done.
What's the upshot for the Aggies if this is indeed the way things go? Texas A&M will most likely rise to about 6th in the poll from their current spot of 9. Now, I could also see the Aggies leapfrogging Oklahoma to get into that top five (though I don't find that likely) or the Longhorns, who were only 15 points behind the Aggies in last week's poll, could move back ahead on their bye as everyone looks at that picture of Arch flexing on a Sam Houston player one more time.
There's also an outside chance that Ole Miss could jump the Aggies on the strength of their win over LSU, but I also don't think that's particularly likely. All that in mind, I think the Ags end up at 6th after this weekend's action, with a couple of SEC teams all bunched right around them.