Texas A&M football: How the Aggies can make the College Football Playoff
After Ohio State’s victory over Northwestern, Texas A&M football fans need to root for Notre Dame to rout Clemson in the ACC title game.
The first step for Texas A&M giving themselves a chance to make the College Football Playoff this year was beating Tennessee. They did that on Saturday with a 34-13 win to improve their record to 8-1.
That’s what the Aggies could control. The rest is out of their hands.
What does Texas A&M need to jump into one of the four playoff spots? Some help from the ACC.
Texas A&M needs the ACC to do a favor to make the College Football Playoff
Since Ohio State won the Big Ten title game over Northwester, the 6-0 Buckeyes are expected to keep their place in the Top 4. That means Texas A&M needs someone else to drop out.
Since Notre Dame and Clemson play in the ACC Championship Game, that’s the obvious place to start.
Unfortunately for the Aggies, the result of the ACC title may not matter if it goes one way. A Clemson win over Notre Dame would bring the season series to 1-1. Unless it’s an absolute crushing blowout, the committee is likely to keep both teams in the playoff.
The best scenario for Texas A&M would be for Notre Dame to beat Clemson, the more convincing the better. A two-loss Clemson team could make way for a one-loss SEC squad like the Aggies.
As Jimbo Fisher pointed out, no one-loss SEC team has ever been left out of the playoff. The fact that A&M won’t have won the conference is an issue, but their win over Florida is a quality win to ride.
Of course, the committee may not be interested in setting up a rematch between the Aggies and Alabama considering the Tide’s domination early in the season. That’ll be the subject of many discussions on Sunday if it comes to that. If Florida were to beat Alabama in the SEC title game, things would get even more messy.
Either way, if you’re a Texas A&M fan, put on that navy blue and learn the Notre Dame fight song, because the Irish are the key to the postseason.
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