It’s hard to believe we’re at this point.

It’s Championship Week, and somehow, Texas A&M still has an outside shot to make the College Football Playoff.

The Aggies haven’t done what they typically do to ruin their chances. The bad losses of the Kevin Sumlin era haven’t been a thing in Jimbo Fisher’s tenure. The schedule has been kinder this year, too, which is to say that it only included a couple of top-10 teams as opposed to 5.

A&M proved they belong in the upper echelon of the college football world with a victory against Florida. Now all they have to do is win 1 more game and wait.

The Aggies aren’t guaranteed a spot in the Playoff if they defeat Tennessee at noon ET on Saturday. But they are guaranteed to miss it if they lose.

Not only do they need to win, but they also need either Clemson or Ohio State to lose in their conference championships.

The Buckeyes were in danger of not qualifying to play in the Big Ten Championship after their game against Michigan was canceled this past week. The conference has since waived the minimum game requirement, giving them a shot against Northwestern.

A Clemson loss seems more likely. The Tigers will face Notre Dame, who already beat them earlier in the season, in the ACC Champi0onship. They were missing quarterback Trevor Lawrence in that initial contest, however.

But those games are irrelevant unless the Aggies beat the Volunteers. It would be typical of them to make it this far only to get upset Saturday.

So many years, we’ve heard that this is the season they break through only to watch them fall short of expectations. The Aggies have to understand the importance of this game and come focused. I believe they will.

We’ve seen them overcome several roadblocks this year.

Jhamon Ausbon and Anthony Hines opted out to start the season. Caleb Chapman suffered a season-ending injury while making the game-winning touchdown against Florida. COVID-19, which has done its best to get in the way of seemingly everyone’s season, canceled A&M’s game with Ole Miss.

In spite of this, Fisher has always made sure his team is prepared to play.

Sure, the Aggies were rusty against LSU coming back after 2 weeks of quarantine. They still found a way to win, and they responded the next week with a road victory at Auburn.

We’ve heard a lot about how they need to provide convincing wins to move into the Playoff. We’re past that point now. No matter how convincing a victory against Tennessee is, they won’t make it in over a conference champion.

If the Aggies make the Playoff, it will be because they simply kept doing what was expected of them. In a way, that’s just as inspiring.

They have been the odd man out all season, waiting for something to go their way. Finally, it did last week when Florida lost to LSU. The Aggies are now the SEC’s only hope of getting a 2nd team in the Playoff.

Fisher has been asked on a weekly basis whether his team did enough to prove to the committee that it belongs. His answer has always been the same: We just have to block that out and focus on what we can control. In the end, that was the only path for the Aggies, and he knew it.

You’ve made it this far, Texas A&M. Now don’t blow it.