Aggies jump Florida in Coaches Poll

Texas A&M has been ranked No. 5 in the country in the AP Top 25 poll for five weeks in a row, and has been in that same position in each of the first two College Football Playoff rankings. But the Aggies seemingly could not get over that hump in the USA Today Coaches Poll, having sat at No. 6, one spot behind Florida, in the poll since Nov. 8. That changed Sunday, as the Aggies jumped the Gators following their impressive 31-20 road win over the Auburn Tigers.

Ultimately, the opinion of the Playoff selection committee is the only one that matters, so the AP and Coaches polls don’t have any tangible effect on A&M’s Playoff hopes. But the committee members are human, and are not immune to outside influence, even unconsciously. So having more of the college football media backing A&M as a legit contender can do nothing but help their chances. After a lackluster 20-7 win over LSU (after two weeks off and in a rainstorm, mind you), A&M seemed to control the line of scrimmage from the outset against Auburn, and came away with what has been seemingly universally praised as a very solid win over a good team on the road. Exactly what they needed as they headed into the final stretch of what could still be a magical 2020 season.