Texas A&M ranked No. 17 in initial 2023 SP+

Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings are considered one of the best team metrics in college football, incorporating returning production, recent recruiting and recent history. We mentioned last week that the Aggies are No. 8 in returning production, and on Tuesday the full SP+ rankings were released, and Texas A&M comes in at No. 17.

Coming off of a disastrous 5-7 season last year, No. 17 doesn’t sound too bad. Though it’s worth nothing that 17th nationally is still only good enough for 5th in the SEC (behind No. 1 Georgia, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 LSU). And Ole Miss and Florida are nipping at the Ags’ heels at 18/20, respectively.

A bit more background on these rankings from Bill Connelly himself:

“A reminder on SP+: It’s a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency. It is a predictive measure of the most sustainable and predictable aspects of football, not a résumé ranking, and, along those same lines, these projections aren’t intended to be a guess at what the AP Top 25 will look like at the end of the year. These are simply early offseason power rankings based on the information we have been able to gather to date.”

It’s also worth noting that A&M was No. 6 in these rankings a year ago, so they’re far from perfect. But in the unpredictable world of college football, it’s perhaps the best we’ve got.