Rece Davis not ruling Texas A&M out as a College Football Playoff team

The only game that features two ranked opponents this weekend takes place in College Station. When No. 9 Missouri takes on No. 25 Texas A&M in a marquee SEC matchup with high stakes.

Following their Week 1 loss to Notre Dame the Aggies have been rolling, winning four straight games including their first two SEC matchups of the season under new head coach Mike Elko. But does Texas A&M have what it takes to keep the ball rolling and make their way into the College Football Playoff?

College football analyst Rece Davis believes there is a chance for the Aggies, explaining to Pete Thamel why Texas A&M can’t be counted out of the postseason just yet on the College GameDay Podcast.

“Not yet because of the schedule, and I always say if you’re not good enough, a loss will find you. But what if you’re good enough to navigate the schedule in front of you?” Davis asked. “And you also have the advantage of home games, which for the majority of their big games remaining, almost all of them, almost exclusively, Texas A&M will be in College Station. So I think they sort of fit into that mold.”

Four ranked opponents stand in Texas A&M’s way this season, all of which have to face the Aggies on their home field in one of the most hostile environments in college football. And despite already dropping one of those games to the Fighting Irish, a strong playoff contender in their own right, several teams still have a path like the Aggies.

“Our friend Bill Connelly, you sent me this stat first thing this morning actually, that as we start October 44 teams have at least a 3% chance of a playoff bid. That’s per SP+,” Davis said. “Now what does 3% mean? I don’t know … The point is that there is a chance and there is hope.”

There’s hope for Texas A&M and multiple one-loss or undefeated teams in the country who enter the month of October ranked. Fueled by a dedication to the run game and redshirt freshman quarterback Marcel Reed leading the charge in place of an injured Conner Weigman.

“You’ve said this a lot of times, and it pertains to coaching changes, it pertains to fan interest. If you can sell hope, that’s a good thing for a lot of different teams,” Davis said to Thamel. “And I think Texas A&M would fall into that category in the SEC and there are multitude of teams across other conferences that fall into that category.”

Hope is hard to measure, but there’s definitely some residing in College Station for the Aggies. Which will only increase if Texas A&M is able to secure a big win this weekend over a top-10-ranked opponent.