Texas A&M needed a measuring stick. After opening the season with six consecutive victories and climbing to No. 6 in the polls, the Aggies were still somewhat of a mystery.

Sure, an overtime victory against No. 16 UCLA at home looked impressive from the outset. But as the losses continued to mount for the Bruins, that victory carried less and less weight. The same could be said for a 21-point victory over No. 17 Arkansas in the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. The Razorbacks have since fallen into the SEC West cellar with both teams from the state of Mississippi.

Even their 45-38 double-OT triumph over Tennessee at home left questions as to the team’s overall strength and whether or not they even deserved to win the game after blowing a 21-point lead.

Granted the Aggies entered Saturday’s showdown unbeaten,but going up against the only other unbeaten team in the SEC on their home field would surely answer any lingering doubts about what this Aggies team is made of.

Saturday’s 33-14 loss at Alabama, the Aggies’ first setback since last year’s bowl game, helped to identify this team this season. In dropping to 2-12 all-time against AP top-ranked teams, Texas A&M displayed a toughness that pollsters recognized. If things fall just right, that could give the College Football Playoff committee something to think about in early December.

The fact that Texas A&M isn’t as good as Alabama isn’t a crime; the eyeball test says that nobody is, certainly not in the SEC anyway.

A major takeaway from Saturday’s game is that Texas A&M solidified its place among the upper echelon of teams in the SEC. The Aggies could very well be the second-best team in the conference, and that just shows the disparity between Alabama and everybody else.

The Aggies rushed for more yards than any team this season against the nation’s best rush defense. Compiling 114 yards on the ground, the Aggies are one of only two teams to reach the 100-yard mark this season on the vaunted Tide defense. Ole Miss also finished with 101 rushing yards in its 48-43 loss.

And while Alabama rolled up 451 yards of total offense, an impressive showing by any standard, it was in fact the Tide’s lowest output of the season. Previously, the Tide’s low mark was 465 in the season opener with USC.

Alabama was coming off a season-high 594 total yards against Tennessee.

So relatively speaking, the Aggies did the best job statistically on Alabama of any opponent this season. The final score gave no indication of it, but a roughing the passer penalty and a scoop-and-score made the difference between a lopsided victory on the scoreboard and a one-possession game.

Again, that’s what separates Alabama from the rest. They are capable, like no other team, of causing and taking advantage of those types of plays.

And so the challenge ahead for Texas A&M is to not let Saturday’s loss turn into another. The Aggies’ upcoming schedule is favorable in guarding against such a slump. Texas A&M takes on New Mexico State this Saturday and follows it up with games at Mississippi State and then back home against slumping Ole Miss. A home game with UT-San Antonio follows that.

So the Aggies could very realistically find themselves hosting LSU in the regular-season finale on Thanksgiving night with a 10-1 record. If what we learned from this team on Saturday is correct, that’s the scenario we can expect to find.