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The Texas A&M Aggies are gearing up for what many (me, at least) have pegged as the most pivotal game of the 2019 season against the Auburn Tigers this Saturday at Kyle Field. We already knew that Las Vegas had A&M as the slight favorite, with the Aggies at -4, but as college football media picks pour in, it seems like national writers are also high on A&M picking up the W to open SEC play.
I’ve compiled the picks from experts* at CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and USA Today (essentially any reputable website who published a panel of straight up picks that wasn’t behind a paywall) and of the 21 writers polled, more than 70% chose Texas A&M over Auburn.
CBS Sports Picks
| Dennis Dodd | Jerry Palm | Tom Fornelli | Chip Patterson | Barton Simmons | Barrett Sallee | Ben Kercheval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Dodd | Jerry Palm | Tom Fornelli | Chip Patterson | Barton Simmons | Barrett Sallee | Ben Kercheval |
| A&M | A&M | A&M | AUB | A&M | A&M | AUB |
Sports Illustrated Picks
| Ross Dellenger | Joan Niesen | Laken Litman | Max Meyer | Tim Rohan | Molly Geary | Scooby Axson | Michael Shapiro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Dellenger | Joan Niesen | Laken Litman | Max Meyer | Tim Rohan | Molly Geary | Scooby Axson | Michael Shapiro |
| A&M | A&M | AUBURN | AUBURN | AUBURN | A&M | A&M | A&M |
USA Today Picks
| Jace Evans | Paul Myerberg | George Schroeder | Erick Smith | Eddie Timanus | Dan Wolken |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jace Evans | Paul Myerberg | George Schroeder | Erick Smith | Eddie Timanus | Dan Wolken |
| A&M | A&M | AUBURN | A&M | A&M | A&M |
This ratio mirrors what we saw among our writers at GBH, with 7 out of 10 picking A&M to win in The Tailgate. Meanwhile our comrades at College and Magnolia unanimously picked Auburn to win. As usual, Good Bull Hunting stands above the crowd as a bastion of objective journalism.
What do these picks mean for tomorrow's outcome? Absolutely nothing. But it’s fun to talk about, and we need something to fill the time between now and kickff. If nothing else, it’s always nice to see others feeling as good about your team as you do.
#BTHOauburn
*From a clickbaity perspective, experts is absolutely the right term to use. It’s succinct and provides an air of importance. But I’m also hesitant to refer to someone as an expert in picking college football games just because they write about college football. So I landed on putting “experts” in quotation marks. I hope you can all join me in accepting this compromise.