Marcel Reed has Texas A&M looking like real championship contenders; don’t just take my word for it, though. When you look at the national championship contenders this season, none are playing as well as Indiana and the Aggies. Texas A&M has officially moved on from the Jimbo Fisher era and become legit contenders in both the SEC and college football as a whole.
The Aggies are 8-0 with wins over LSU now, Notre Dame (both of those road wins mind you) and just two ranked opponents left to play. They’re on a shortlist of three other teams that actually might be good enough to dethrone Ohio State. After Miami folded against Louisville, it made it clear the Buckeyes are the best team in college football this year.
Ohio State has been blessed with a favorable schedule this year so a team like Texas A&M or Indiana could sneak up on the Buckeyes from simply being battle-tested this season. Here’s who else could have an outside chance to beat Ohio State and claim the national title over the Buckeyes.
Ole Miss Rebels
Lane Kiffin’s squad is just finding ways to win and when they don’t win, they’re still running the score up in the process. Ohio State hasn’t faced an offense quite like Kiffin’s all year which is why the Rebels could be a team that stun Ohio State were the two teams to make the College Football Playoff. While this is the best defense Kiffin has had at Ole Miss, they still give up a lot of points.
That said, Kiffin has always been an offensive savant and that’s the one key to beating Ohio State is being able to score on their defense. They have the best defense in college football and don’t give up a lot of points. Kiffin is so creative, he would find ways to get his guys open, even against Ohio State and that would be a scary recipe for the defending champs. Their offense hasn’t had to win them a game yet this year and against Ole Miss, that would be put to the test; shootout incoming.
Indiana Hoosiers
Indiana remembers all the memes, jokes and disrespect they got from losing to Ohio State last year and they can’t wait for their chance at revenge. If the Hoosiers and the Buckeyes met in the College Football Playoff it might end up being one of the best games of the season. Curt Cignetti and his Hoosiers look drastically different than they did a year ago and if anybody is going to trip up the Buckeyes, it will be Indiana.
The Hoosiers have made everyone look like an easy opponent. Even against Oregon, one of their closest games this year, they managed to not sweat on the road, playing in Autzen Stadium. This is a team that could honestly win a championship on their mentality alone. Then they match that mindset with near flawless execution on the field. Ohio State better not sleep on Indiana because if the two teams meet in the Big Ten title game, it could very well be the beginning of the end for the Buckeyes’ title defense.
Texas A&M Aggies
I don’t think this Aggies team is the best in the SEC, but they find ways to win and they dominate both sides of the ball. This is an offense that can keep pace against SEC defenses, while holding offenses at bay. Other than two games against Notre Dame and Arkansas, they haven’t given up more than 25 points in any other game and have scored at least 31 points in all but one game. This team feels like a dark horse contender because it’s hard for us to accept that Alabama and Georgia aren’t the kings of the SEC anymore.
The Aggies could be a team that sneaks up on Ohio State simply because they have a really good defense that could thwart a lot of what’s made Reed a Heisman favorite. But this Aggies defense is as good as any if we’re being honest. Ohio State could overlook that and struggle to score against a team that doesn’t give up a lot of points.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
This is a long shot, but it’s not completely irrational to think Texas Tech could rise as a national championship contender. A bad Big 12 schedule aside, this team looks as good as their NIL bill suggests. They went on a spending frenzy last winter and spring to make sure they were in the situation they’re in.
Like the other teams on this list, Ohio State probably feels they could steamroll the Red Raiders and Texas Tech isn’t built to get run out of the stadium this year. With the right matchups, they could possibly go on a deep run. They have one of the most expensive rosters in college football this season. They are expecting to be competing on a national level.
They’re doing just that and they’re my favorite to get out of the Big 12. If they put together a good enough run in the CFP, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them face Ohio State and give them a tough battle. I don’t know if I’m confident enough to say they’ll win, but it wouldn’t shock me either.