Bye Week Reset: Can Aggies Still Reach Atlanta?

Texas A&M has everything to play for heading into the home stretch

Matt Galatzan | Oct 25, 2021

Ahead of their Week 6 matchup against No. 1 Alabama in College Station, Texas A&M found itself in a precarious position -- either win, or the 2021 season was inherently over.

Now, after taking down the Crimson Tide and extending that momentum into a three-game win streak, Texas A&M's season has found new life.

To be clear, an SEC West title is still an unlikely outcome. The Aggies currently sit in fourth place in the West behind Alabama, Ole Miss, and Auburn.

They are also currently in a tie with Mississippi State, which holds the tiebreaker over the Aggies.

However, that doesn't mean it's out of the question.

The Aggies still have to face No. 18 Auburn (Nov. 6) and travel to No. 10 Ole Miss (Nov. 13), each of whom already has a conference loss.

State, meanwhile, still has a gauntlet of a schedule, facing Kentucky, Arkansas, Auburn, and Ole Miss in four of their next five games, and will be unlikely to run the table.

Assuming a Bulldog loss at some point, the Aggies will thrust themselves into sole possession of second place behind the Crimson Tide, as long as they keep winning.

After that, there is only one piece remaining in order for the program to make its first trip to Atlanta -- one more Alabama stumble.

While that seems unlikely with their remaining schedule (Alabama faces struggling LSU and Arkansas teams in two of the next three weeks) there is one game that Aggie fans should have circled on their calendars.

A trip to Auburn for the Iron Bowl.

As we have seen in years past, anything can happen when Alabama and Auburn get together.

Auburn has also won each of the last two games vs. Alabama at Jordan-Hare Stadium

Combine that trend, with a freshman quarterback playing in what will be the toughest stadium he has played in since his Week 6 loss to the Aggies, and there is a recipe for an upset.

Obviously, there are a lot of moving parts in this scenario, and the odds are not stacked in A&M's favor.

However, if they can control what they can control and just keep winning football games, they will be within striking distance.

After that, all they need is a little bit of luck.

Want to join in on the discussion? Click here to become a member of the All Aggies message board community today!

Want More Aggies News? Check Out The Latest In Texas A&M News Here

Follow All Aggies on Twitter and Facebook

Published Oct 25, 2021

MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.