Texas A&M's dramatic and high-octane victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks last night certified that the Aggies are the lone remaining unbeaten team in the SEC, as Ole Miss fell to Georgia earlier in the day. While there are still plenty of SEC squads in the hunt for the playoff, the Aggies are in by far the best spot as of right now.
The Aggies are likely to climb into the no. 3 overall spot in the AP Poll after this win, and while the College Football Playoff rankings have yet to be released, Texas A&M's status nationally is becoming rather difficult to question.
This is a team with one of the best non-conference wins of the entire year with their victory over Notre Dame on the road— one of the only big wins from that early in the season that has aged this well. The other would be Florida State's win over Alabama, but with the Seminole's descent into obscurity, that isn't quite as big of a factor.
Texas A&M is near to becoming a playoff lock after defeating Arkansas
Texas A&M has only five games left to go on their schedule— two at home, and three on the road. Those road games are where the key is: if Texas A&M can continue to defend home field— which, let's be honest, is really only a relevant proposition on November 15 when South Carolina comes to town, as not many Aggie fans are worried about FCS Samford— then they only need one more road win to get to 10-2.
A 10-2 SEC team, especially one with a premier non-conference road win like the Aggies have over Notre Dame, is a squad that is making the playoffs 100% of the time. Texas A&M could probably even make it in at 9-3 thanks to the strength of that victory over the Irish, but 10-2 would be tantamount to a guarantee.
Texas A&M is sitting in as good of a spot as any team in the country when it comes to their playoff chances, in other words. Ohio State and Indiana have much easier paths for the rest of their schedule, of course, but the Aggies have to be considered a favorite to make the College Football Playoff at this point.