Jesse Palmer breaks down how Texas A&M can reach College Football Playoff this season
By Jake Rill
Published:
Texas A&M may have a loss, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s out of the College Football Playoff picture. In fact, ESPN analyst Jesse Palmer sees a path for the Aggies to get there this season.
However, Texas A&M can’t have another misstep. And it’s going to take some help.
“They’re in it, but I think to get there it’s gonna be really, really tough,” Palmer said recently on ESPN’s College Football Countdown (h/t Matt Howe of 247Sports.com). “… They need Bama to win out, [have Georgia or Florida to lose], they need Clemson to beat Notre Dame maybe twice and they need Oklahoma State probably to lose twice as well. A&M is a really good team, but they need help.”
The Aggies may be able to take care of business on their end. They have six games remaining, and none of them are against ranked opponents — Arkansas, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, LSU and Auburn. That’s not to say they’ll win every game, but they should at least have a chance to.
It shouldn’t be too tough for Alabama and Clemson to win out, although the Tigers will face a challenge in going up against Notre Dame (potentially twice). Oklahoma State is a strong team and it may be unlikely that it loses twice this season, but anything can happen.
Since losing to Alabama 52-24 on Oct. 3, Texas A&M has bounced back with impressive victories over Florida and Mississippi State.
Texas A&M will look to keep its momentum going against Arkansas on Saturday at Kyle Field. The two teams are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
Jake Rill contributes to news coverage for Saturday Down South. He has covered the SEC since 2016.
