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Paul Finebaum believes the Aggies are in danger when they hit the road this weekend.
No. 15 Texas A&M faces Auburn inside Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 13. The Aggies (8-2) did what was asked of them a week ago, responding to a 24-point loss to South Carolina by blasting New Mexico State.
At 4-6 on the season and 1-5 in SEC play, Auburn probably doesn’t attract the same level of focus as a school like Texas might. For the Aggies, it would be natural to look ahead to Nov. 30, when the third-ranked Longhorns come to Kyle Field for a game that could carry College Football Playoff implications.
But that’s only if A&M takes care of business this Saturday.
During an appearance on SportsCenter Friday morning, the SEC Network host laid out why he believes this is a trap game for A&M.
“People will say, ‘Well, why? Auburn has not been good at all this year.’ But Texas A&M, interestingly, controls its own destiny. That means they have to beat Auburn, they beat Texas next week, they go to the SEC Championship Game. What is so important though is that next week is the biggest game in Texas A&M history at Kyle Field,” Finebaum said. “Are they looking ahead? I think that’s a pretty good chance of happening. Mike Elko even slipped up this week in talking about Auburn. He mentioned Texas. So, keep your eye on Jordan-Hare Stadium tomorrow night.”
The line from Vegas reinforces Finebaum’s point. At ESPN Bet, A&M is just a 2.5-point favorite over the Tigers. Auburn is coming off a 48-14 win over UL-Monroe last weekend, but the Tigers have only faced 1 team this season with a winning record in league play (Georgia) and it was handled in that game.
But Auburn also figures to stand tall in the face of what A&M wants to do on offense. Georgia on Oct. 5 was the last team to run for more than 100 yards against the Tigers. Missouri had just 81 yards on 32 rushing attempts. Vanderbilt had just 84 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
Texas A&M is among the top 20 teams nationally in rushing on the season, and it has been even more run-focused with Marcel Reed at quarterback.
Given the styles, we’ll learn pretty quickly if Texas A&M is focused on the task at hand.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
