So, Las Vegas oddsmakers recently released their projected win totals (and odds) for the upcoming season. The wise guys of the West don’t think much of Texas A&M’s chances in 2016. They’ve made the over/under at 6.

That’s a .500 regular season for an Aggies team looking to improve on back-to-back 8-5 campaigns. A 6-win season would be devastating for a program spending hundreds of millions in stadium renovation upgrades.

But given the question marks at both quarterback and running back, is it that far-fetched to think that Texas A&M could slip into mediocrity this season? And that’s not even mentioning a porous run defense as bad as anyone’s in the conference in 2015.

So can we expect a drop-off in production from the Aggies in 2016? Most Aggies fans would tell you that 8-5 is rock bottom as far as they are concerned. But when you have a new quarterback, albeit a veteran from another school, and he’s the key part of a group that’s learning a new system, it puts even the optimists of the fan base a little on edge.

One would have to believe that the run defense will improve in DC John Chavis’ second season in College Station. If that, indeed, comes to pass, the Aggies defense looks to be pretty good or at least better than it has over the past few years.

It may very well have to be to carry the team until the offense jells, and that includes a revamped offensive line that lost some outstanding talent from last year. That, coupled with the quarterback and running back (replacing 1,000-yard rusher Tra Carson) situations are what the Vegas insiders surely must be looking at when they considered 6 as a likely number of victories collected in 2016.

Well, that and a brutal schedule. But that’s a given when playing in the SEC West – home non-conference games with Prairie View, New Mexico State and UTSA notwithstanding.

The season opener with UCLA at Kyle Field will be a real tester but one the Aggies can win. It’s a big game to open the season and one that would give the Aggies immense confidence should they come away victorious.

But there’s a visit to Auburn and a date with Arkansas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on back-to-back weeks in mid-September that will probably be more of an indication as to what kind of football team the Aggies will field for the 2016 season.

A visit to a South Carolina team in transition also looks winnable.

It’s the following week, an Oct. 8 clash with Tennessee at Kyle Field (Maroon Out Game) that could very well make or break their year. The Vols are the trendy pick in the SEC East, and a victory over a team of that caliber midway through the season could propel the Aggies to a much better year than what Vegas is projecting.

Visits to Alabama and Mississippi State follow, but the Aggies finish at home with Ole Miss, UTSA, and LSU.

It’s worth noting that South Carolina, New Mexico State and UTSA were the only opponents on Texas A&M’s schedule that weren’t projected to win a half-dozen games (Prairie View A&M wasn’t listed).

It looks like it’s going to be one of those seasons where if QB Trevor Knight leads an efficient offense, the Aggies could compete in the SEC West. However, if the line doesn’t come together in a timely fashion and Knight struggles with little help from the running game, it could very well be the long year Vegas is apparently anticipating.