Jesse Palmer: Texas A&M is the ultimate College Football Playoff dark horse

Jesse Palmer believes in Texas A&M football’s College Football Playoff chances.

Texas A&M football can crash the College Football Playoff, according to Jesse Palmer.

The Aggies enter their Week 10 road date vs. the cross-divisional rival South Carolina Gamecocks. While that will be a tougher game than many would expect, Texas A&M is the No. 7 team in the country for a reason. They have a big home win over the Florida Gators and their only loss on the year is to the Alabama Crimson Tide. There is a great chance Texas A&M goes 9-1 this season.

Chaos serves the Aggies’ chances to make the playoff for the first time

“I did have Texas A&M as my sixth team in the latest rankings. Assuming chaos continues to happen in places like the Big 12 and around the country, the SEC could get two teams in and Texas A&M absolutely could be one of them,” said Palmer to FanSided on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project.

“I think we can trust them this year because they have a great offensive play-caller in head coach Jimbo Fisher. Kellen Mond has played strong and consistent football from the quarterback position. I love their running game built around Isaiah Spiller, and Jalen Wydermyer is one of the best tight ends in the country.”

The talent has never really been the issue in College Station. Texas A&M is in Texas after all. What has been problematic is the Aggies’ inability to show up in big games. Though they have proven they can beat bottom-tier SEC teams since switching conferences back in 2012, holding their own against the upper crust has not been as easy. Then again, that Florida win was huge for them.

“Texas A&M’s schedule sets up very nicely the rest of the way,” said Palmer. “Their toughest remaining game is at Auburn, but that’s the last game of the season. There is a very good chance the Aggies are 8-1 heading into that game.

“Depending on what happens between Florida and Georgia, Texas A&M might be sitting there at 9-1 with their loss being to Alabama. If Alabama wins the SEC and we don’t have a convincing Power 5 champion out of the Big 12 or the Pac-12, Texas A&M might be there on Selection Sunday, hoping to get into the College Football Playoff for the first time.”

Palmer is right the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will give the Aggies a ton of credit for going 9-1 in SEC play with their only loss at Alabama. Of course, if Alabama were to lose to either Florida or Georgia in the SEC Championship, then Texas A&M’s playoff chances would largely go out the window as an at-large.

Then again, having the head-to-head tiebreaker over Florida is massive. Should the Gators win in Jacksonville over the Dawgs, get to Atlanta and beat the Tide there, maybe Texas A&M has an outside shot of getting in that way? Once again, chaos will be something the Aggies will have to lean on to get in. However, the Big 12 is out of it and the Pac-12 may not have a legit shot with a reduced schedule.

You better believe a 9-1 Texas A&M team will finish as one of the six best teams in the country.

Jesse Palmer spoke with FanSided on behalf of the Wounded Warrior Project. He will be hosting the “Honoring Our Warriors” virtual Veterans Day celebration by the Wounded Warrior Project on Wednesday, Nov. 11 at 11:30 a.m. EST on the nonprofit’s Facebook Page and YouTube channel.

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