Texas A&M is coming off a down year (8-5) in which it lost five of its final eight games, including a 27-21 to Louisville in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl to smolder over all offseason.

They get no relief next season. The 2016 schedule is brutal. As if the usual SEC West slate weren’t enough to give Aggies fans heartburn, Texas A&M faces Tennessee in one of its two SEC East crossover games. Tennessee is the SEC East favorite in 2016.

The season opener won’t be any cakewalk, either. UCLA comes to Kyle Field to raise the curtain on the 2016 season and the Bruins could very well enter the season as the favorite in the Pac-12 South division.

The Aggies’ first three SEC games are away from home. At Auburn, a neutral site (AT&T Stadium) vs. Arkansas, and at South Carolina, make for a challenging trio of games to open conference play. If the Aggies aren’t prepared, they could be on the outside looking in before the season reaches the halfway point.

A rough midseason set of games finds Texas A&M hosting Tennessee before an open date and then a visit to defending national champion Alabama.

If the Aggies survive to that point, they can look forward to closing the season with SEC West foes Mississippi State, Ole Miss and LSU.

Brutal might be an understatement in describing the gauntlet the Aggies must endure next season. The Aggies will be breaking in a new quarterback, a new offensive coordinator and a new athletic director. Nonconference cupcakes Prairie View A&M, New Mexico State and UT-San Antonio, are the only “gimmies” in a schedule that would be daunting for the best of teams. Just becoming bowl eligible will be a challenge.

Let’s take a closer look at the schedule.

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

Home games (7): UCLA (Sept. 3), Prairie View A&M (Sept. 10), Tennessee (Oct. 8) New Mexico State (Oct. 29), Ole Miss (Nov. 12), UT-San Antonio (Nov. 19), LSU (Nov. 24).

Road games (4): Auburn (Sept. 17), South Carolina (Oct. 1), Alabama (Oct. 22), Mississippi State (Nov. 5).

Neutral site (1): Arkansas (Sept. 24 in Arlington, Texas)

Longest home stretch: 3 games (Ole Miss, UT-San Antonio, LSU)

Longest road stretch: 1 game (4 times)

OPPONENT BREAKDOWN

2015 ranked teams (final regular season): No. 1 Alabama, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 16 LSU, No. 22 Tennessee

2016 ranked teams (early projections): No. 3 Alabama, No. 10 Tennessee, No. 11 LSU, No. 13 UCLA

Potential trap games: At South Carolina (one week after back-to-back SEC West encounters with Auburn and Arkansas); at Mississippi State (sandwiched between New Mexico State and a huge showdown with Ole Miss).

Toughest SEC games: vs. Tennessee, at Alabama, vs. LSU

FULL SCHEDULE

Week Opponent Venue
1 UCLA Kyle Field
2 Prairie View A&M Kyle Field
3 at Auburn Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn. Ala.
4 Arkansas AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
5 South Carolina Williams-Bryce Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
6 Tennessee Kyle Field
7 Open date
8 at Alabama Bryant-Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Ala.
9 New Mexico State Kyle Field
10 at Mississippi State Davis-Wade Stadium, Starkville, Miss.
11 Ole Miss Kyle Field
12 UT-San Antonio Kyle Field
13 LSU Kyle Field