Texas A&M gets a breather in Week 9, and it comes at a good time.
The Aggies are 4-4 after a season that started with top-10 buzz and the return of several players from last year’s College Football Playoff team, but hasn’t gone the way anyone in College Station wanted. Texas A&M has already taken hits from Kentucky, LSU and Missouri, and last week it went to Alabama and came up short despite leading.
So no, the Aggies are not playing this Saturday. They’re on their lone open week before heading into the stretch run.
That stretch starts next week at South Carolina, then gets a lot more interesting. Tennessee comes to College Station on Nov. 14, and the Aggies could knock the Volunteers out of the postseason picture with a win. After that, Texas A&M travels to Oklahoma on Nov. 21 before closing the regular season at home against Texas in the annual rivalry game.
That final matchup could matter plenty for the Longhorns too. Even with Texas A&M sitting at just 1-4 in conference play, Aggies fans would love nothing more than to put a dent in UT’s season when the calendar flips to the last week.
For now, though, the bigger question is bowl eligibility. Texas A&M still needs a few more wins to get there, and right now it sits outside most major bowl projections.
Here’s the Aggies’ schedule so far and what’s left:
Week 1: W vs. Missouri State, 50-0
Week 2: W vs. Arizona State, 48-20
Week 3: L vs. Kentucky, 31-21
Week 4: L at LSU, 35-6
Week 5: W vs Arkansas, 34-7
Week 6: L at Missouri, 27-6
Week 7: W vs. The Citadel, 41-0
Week 8: L at Alabama, 31-20
Week 9: Bye
Week 10: at South Carolina 2 p.m. Nov. 7 (ESPN)
Week 11: vs. No.
16 Tennessee at TBA Nov. 14 (TBA)
Week 12: at Oklahoma TBA Nov. 21 (TBA)
Week 13: vs. No.
11 Texas at 6:30 p.m. (ABC)
In Other News...
Texas Win Came With A Missouri Concern Fans Can't Ignore
Texas got the result it wanted against Mississippi State, but the win came with a longer injury list than anyone around the program would have liked. Several key players, including Graceson Littleton, Cam Coleman, Kade Phillips, Hollywood Smothers and Ryan Wingo, were unable to finish the game, forcing Texas to keep adjusting on the fly as the roster thinned out in real time.
Steve Sarkisian acknowledged the concern afterward, and the biggest issue now is not just who got hurt, but how serious those injuries might be. The press box observations offered some clues about the nature of the setbacks and the substitutions that followed, but for Texas the real answer will come later, when the team gets a clearer read on who can move forward and who may be limited heading into the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Coleman Gave Texas A Spark Then Left Fans Worried
Cam Coleman gave Texas exactly the kind of early lift it needed against Mississippi State, turning his first two catches into 61 yards and a touchdown before the second quarter even settled in. He had only recently worked his way through a shoulder issue from the previous week, but after being cleared to play, he looked like a difference-maker right away and helped set the tone for the Longhorns.
Then came the sight that had Texas fans uneasy. Coleman was seen heading to the locker room in the second quarter without an obvious injury moment on the field, a development that immediately shifted attention from his big start to his availability for the rest of the game. For a Texas offense that had already leaned on his explosiveness, the next update mattered almost as much as the production he had already delivered. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Backfield Suddenly Has A Bigger Problem Than Fans Expected
Texas backfield took another uneasy turn against Mississippi State when Hollywood Smothers was injured and sent to the medical tent after absorbing a hard hit. It was already a game in which his role had been limited, and the moment only added to the sense that the Longhorns are still trying to sort out how much they can count on him in a rotation that has been shifting for weeks.
Raleek Brown has been the steadier presence in the run game, and his strong outing against the Bulldogs only sharpened the contrast. Smothers has already missed two games with a lower-leg injury, and Brown has outpaced him in both rushing yards and touchdowns this season, leaving Texas with a backfield picture that feels less settled than anyone expected. [Read more 🡒]