Texas A&M football is ranked sixteenth in the latest AP Poll after a week of upsets saw several teams ahead of them fall to unranked opponents.
This is where we had projected the Aggies to land given the movement ahead of them. It wasn't Ole Miss or Alabama that leapfrogged the Aggies, however— it was the Tennessee Volunteers, who moved up to the 15th spot, with only five more points than the Aggies on the poll.
Florida, SMU, Arizona State, and Michigan all fell below Texas A&M after sustaining losses. The first three fell completely out of the poll, as they lost to unranked teams, while Michigan sustained a road loss to Oklahoma that only bumped them down a few spots.
AP Poll reaction after tumultuous week 2: Upsets set up huge game between Texas A&M and Notre Dame
A sneaky thing that A&M fans may not notice, though, is that despite the Gators, who Texas A&M will play on October 11, losing their ranked status, the number of ranked opponents on the A&M schedule actually increased. Auburn and Missouri snuck in the bottom of the rankings at 24 and 25, and the Aggies will have to face both sets of Tigers this year.
A&M's move up to 16th sets up a great ranked matchup between them and the no. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish here next Saturday. The Aggies have a chance to move into the top 10 if they can get a win over the Irish, especially given the fact that Tennessee and Georgia— two other teams currently ranked ahead of the Aggies— also face off next week.
Beating the Irish would give the Ags one of the best wins here early in this season, and could be a springboard to great things still coming. Texas A&M needs to stay frosty, of course, as though they'll have a bye after the Notre Dame game, they have to play the Auburn Tigers on the other side of it.
The entire AP Poll can be found at this link.