Texas A&M’s drop in the Week 3 AP Poll was never going to be gentle after an upset loss to Kentucky at home, and the Aggies slid all the way to No. 23.
That kind of tumble was easy to see coming. The bigger question is whether it says anything lasting about where this team is headed.
For now, the answer is no. The loss was ugly, sure, but it does not close the book on Texas A&M.
There is still time for the Aggies to settle in, clean things up, and climb back into the conversation if they handle what’s coming next. Pollsters were always going to punish a result like that.
What happens over the next few weeks will matter far more than one bad afternoon.
And those next few weeks are loaded. Texas A&M has five opponents ahead that are ranked in this poll, plus Oklahoma, which is still receiving votes.
The run starts this week in Baton Rouge, and even if the matchup has lost some shine after the Kentucky setback, it still looks like a fight. LSU is good, and the Tigers are in the same place the Aggies are now: dealing with pressure and trying to prove something.
The path doesn’t get easier after that. Texas A&M is likely to be an underdog against LSU, and maybe Missouri too.
Unless something dramatic changes, the Aggies won’t be favored in Tuscaloosa either. And that’s before even getting to Oklahoma, a game that could feature the Sooners back in the top 25 by then.
That’s a brutal stretch, and it also explains why the loss to Kentucky stings so much when it comes to College Football Playoff hopes. But there’s another way to look at it: the Aggies now have plenty of chances to climb. If they start beating ranked teams, the Kentucky result can fade fast.
That’s the real takeaway here. This is a setback, but it is also a runway.
Elko has already said this is a team that will be the underdog going forward, and Texas A&M has shown it can operate well in that role. If the talent comes together the way it should, this team is still dangerous.
So no, it’s too early to write off the Aggies. The national chatter may have cooled on them fast, but the season is still there to be shaped.
In Other News...
Alabama Gets An Early SEC Reality Check In New AP Poll
The latest AP top 25 brought a fresh shakeup across the SEC entering Week 4, with Ole Miss win over LSU helping alter the leagues early pecking order and Florida sliding into the rankings after a win at Auburn. The movement reflected how quickly the conference landscape can change in September, especially with so many ranked teams already testing each other in pivotal matchups.
For Texas A&M, the update came with a cost after the loss to Kentucky, a result that pushed the Aggies down and renewed attention on their inconsistency on both sides of the ball. With several other teams lingering just outside the poll on votes received, the margin for error is already shrinking, and A&M will spend the next stretch trying to show it belongs back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Suddenly Has Two Problems Fans Cant Ignore
Texas A&Ms SEC opener against Kentucky was supposed to be a chance to settle in and build early momentum, but instead it left the Aggies with a familiar-looking reminder of how thin the margin can be in this league. Favored to win before kickoff, they fell 31-21 and spent much of the night chasing a game that kept slipping further away, especially after Kentucky found room to move in the third quarter and widened the gap.
There were a few encouraging signs on offense, with Mario Craver and KJ Edwards each providing some positive moments, but they were overshadowed by the bigger issues that kept showing up. Marcel Reeds interceptions added to the pressure, and the defensive performance was the kind of problem that tends to linger unless it gets fixed quickly, which makes the conversation around this team feel a lot more urgent after one conference loss. [Read more 🡒]
Texas A&M Suddenly Has A Backfield Problem Fans Feared
Texas A&Ms backfield took another hit late in the second quarter against Kentucky, when freshman running back KJ Edwards went down and did not return. Edwards had been part of the game plan before the injury, and his absence was immediate enough to be felt in a room that was already working through depth questions.
Mike Elko confirmed the injury after the game, and the bigger concern is what it means for the Aggies running back rotation moving forward. With multiple scholarship backs already injured, Texas A&M is left trying to piece together a position group that was supposed to provide stability, but now feels increasingly fragile just as the season pushes on. [Read more 🡒]