Texas A&M (7-1, 5-0 SEC) earned its most significant win of the season against the visiting LSU Tigers on Saturday night, as the Aggies went on a memorable 31-6 run in the second half after trailing 17-7 at halftime.
Led by Texas A&M’s change at quarterback in the second half, backup signal-caller Marcel Reed looked the part on the ground, rushing for three touchdowns. At the same time, LSU’s defense failed to adjust, allowing the Aggies ground game to bully the Tigers into submission.
Defensively, the Aggies secondary clamped up after allowing several chunk gains through the air in the first half, as senior cornerback BJ Mayes notched two interceptions in the third quarter, while Texas A&M’s pass rush recorded two late sacks.
After the win, ESPN’s Football Power Index update revealed a small rise in the rankings for the Aggies.
Texas A&M football’s FPI ranking, rating
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, Texas A&M rose to No. 12 after defeating LSU with a 16.7 FPI rating, the sixth-highest among SEC teams. The Aggies are projected to win 9.6 games and have a 3.5% chance of winning out. Sitting at 7-1 and 5-0, A&M currently has a 46.6% chance to make the playoffs and a 6.0% chance to make the National Championship game.
SEC team in FPI
The top-ranked SEC teams in the upper echelon of the rankings include the Texas Longhorns (25.7), followed by Alabama (3rd, 25.0), Georgia (4th, 22.9), Tennesee (21.5) at sixth, and the Ole Miss Rebels ( 22.4) in 7th place.
LSU (16.3) dropped two spots after losing to Texas A&M, and the Florida Gators (10.9) dropped one spot to 23rd during their bye week. Here are the rest of the SEC teams in the rankings:
- South Carolina (21st, 11.5)
- Missouri (24th, 10.6)
- Arkansas (25th 10.4)
- Auburn (30th, 9.3)
- Vanderbilt (37th, 6.7)
- Mississippi State (72nd, -0.9)
Texas A&M will travel to Columbia to face South Carolina on Saturday, Nov. 2nd at 6:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on either ABC or ESPN+
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