Did CFP Get Texas A&M Aggies' Ranking Right?

The Texas A&M Aggies are alive and well in the College Football Playoff hunt.

Jon Alfano | 2 Hours Ago

Nov 2, 2024; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images / Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

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Texas A&M Aggies

After a humbling loss, the Texas A&M Aggies eagerly waited to see where they would end up in Tuesday's first College Football Playoff Rankings.

Luckily for them, they received a better placement than they might've expected. The Aggies came in at No. 14 on the initial rankings, leaving them as the second team out of the expanded playoff behind No. 13 SMU. That's a higher than their No. 15 ranking in the AP Poll and No. 16 ranking in the Coaches Poll. A pleasant surprise in what's otherwise been a week for self-reflection.

That begs the all-important question: did the committee get the Aggies' ranking right?

Well for starters, the CFP ranking gets credit for placing A&M above No. 15 LSU, a team the Aggies just beat by 15 less than two weeks ago. Dropping the Aggies after an ugly loss makes sense, but placing them below the Tigers in both the AP and Coaches Polls was just silly. The CFP committee showed throughout its initial ranking that it values head-to-head results (LSU over Ole Miss, Kansas State over Colorado, Louisville over Clemson), and that deserves praise.

Aside from that, there's not really much else that effects the Aggies, at least in a different way than the other polls. They still control their own destiny, with tiebreakers getting them to the SEC Championship Game if they win out, but a third loss all but ends their playoff hopes. All things considered, that's about as good of a position they could be in at this point in the season.

Following this week's bye, the Aggies will look to keep their playoff hopes alive when they face New Mexico State, Auburn and rival Texas to close the regular season.