Why Texas A&M’s loss to Texas could be their playoff break

The Texas A&M Aggies were one win away from their best season ever program history.

If the Aggies could win their final game of the regular season, they would not only complete their second-ever 12-win season, but they would also have a chance to win the SEC championship for the first time since joining the conference.

Instead, the desperate Texas Longhorns defeated A&M in one of the highlights of Rivalry Weekend.

Despite leading the division all season, A&M now drops from first to third in the conference standings despite all three teams having finished 7-1 in SEC play.

Texas A&M finished 7-1 in SEC play, but they lost the mutual draw to the team that won their division. Because the SEC breaks ties first through direct matchup, that single loss keeps the Aggies out of the conference title game.

With discussions surrounding the importance of Conference Championship games due to College Football’s new playoff format, there could be a silver lining to A&M’s unfortunate ending to the regular season.

Based on current projectionsthe top four seeds to receive a bye in the first round would be Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia and Texas Tech.

Although the top two seeds will play each other in the Big Ten Championship, it is unlikely that the losses in this match would be low enough to still not receive a bye.

Thus, numbers 5 through 7 would consist of the remaining 11-1 teams: Oregon, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.

Oregon and Ole Miss were shut out of a bid for the conference championship because of their lone loss, so bye aspirations were out of the picture for these programs.

However, the mentality at A&M could be that their bye week starts a week earlier.

If A&M were to face Alabama, there would be little National Championship implications for the game.

Currently, the SEC is expected to send five teams to the playoffs. So the top two seeds don’t have to worry about their ticket to the dance.

So, instead of risking injuries and showing offensive and defensive film in a game that won’t help their journey to the National Championship, why not take two weeks to prepare to play the #11 or #12 seed in the playoffs?

The #11 and #12 seeds in the playoff would likely be the last at-large bid and the fifth winner of the Conference.

Between the #5, #6 and #7 seeds, the Aggies have the best argument for the #5 honor.

Oregon has the most impressive loss of the group (Indiana); However, A&M has the highest-ranked win against Notre Dame.

They also have four impressive road wins, included the Irish, Arkansas, LSU and Missouri.

Oregon’s best win this year was at home against USC, but after their loss at Penn State they lost most of their credibility.

Ole Miss may have a better case for No. 5 than Oregon, with its only loss being a shootout against Georgia, and its most impressive win coming against Oklahoma on the road.

However, the loss of Lane Kiffin as Head Coach will likely hinder the Rebels’ ability to advance.

So A&M now has an extra week to game plan for a team like North Texas or James Madison, instead of Alabama having seven days’ notice.

If they won, they would face No. 4 seed, likely Texas Tech.

However, the Red Raiders also finished 11-1, with a significantly easier schedule than Texas A&M.

According to ESPNthe Aggies had the third-toughest schedule in college football, where the Red Raiders finished 10th.

Their biggest win of the year was a dominant victory at home against BYU, with the only loss coming on the road to Arizona State.

Despite being the higher seed, A&M would likely be favored in this matchup, giving them an ideal path to the semifinals.

The alternative is what the Georgia Bulldogs want to complete.

Georgia will face Alabama in the SEC Championship, hoping to hold onto a top-four seed.

Even if Georgia were to win the SEC crown, they would follow up their bye week with a date against the winner of Oregon and whoever has the ACC Championship.

For a team looking to be rewarded for winning its division, the current College Football Playoff bracket could put these teams in a worse position.

While this has improved from last year, the current format could lead to the end of the conference championships.

It’s hard to push a concept that used to be the determining factor in reaching the National Championship.

Now, with the larger playoff field, the games lack any elimination stakes except for the conferences on the bubble.

For the SEC and Big Ten, losing on a tiebreaker is now the best place a team can be, and that’s what Texas A&M has in front of it.