Analyzing A&M's 2015 schedule

The Southeastern Conference released the football schedules for the 2015 season on Tuesday evening. Here's how A&M's schedule shapes up, along with a breakdown of the major talking  points of next season's schedule.

• Deep in the heart of Texas: The Aggies play nine of their 12 regular season games in Texas, and do not leave the state at all until the Saturday, Oct. 24, game against Ole Miss in Oxford. The juiciest of these home games come in October, with Mississippi State, Alabama and South Carolina all coming to Kyle Field.
• Neutral site games: I hope you like playing in sterile NFL stadiums, because A&M will do it twice in 2015. The season opens on Saturday, Sept. 5, against Arizona State at NRG Stadium in Houston (home of the Houston Texans). The Aggies also return to AT&T Stadium in Arlington for our yearly matchup with Arkansas on Saturday, Sept. 26.
• Bye week before Bama: As the 2014 squad is currently finding out, running the gauntlet in the SEC West takes it's toll, so a well-timed bye week can be crucial. It doesn't get much better than a bye before the Crimson Tide come to town.
• No Mizzou!: A&M said goodbye to the Big 12 three years ago, but thanks to a shuffling schedule due to conference realignment, A&M somehow always ended up with Missouri on the schedule. For the first time since 2009, that won't be the case.
• Only three true road games: While this does have its advantages, don't be surprised when critics bring this up next year during College Football Playoff discussions. If we have a similar resume to another program, this could be considered a knock against us.

With all of that said, this schedule sets up pretty well for A&M. With a wealth of returning talent and a slightly more favorable schedule, good things could be in store in 2015.