Texas A&M Surges Into Playoff Conversation Five Weeks Into the Season

With three of their toughest games still ahead, Texas A&M’s playoff hopes hang in the balance.

Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko reacts against the Auburn Tigers during the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

When the season kicked off, expectations for year two of the Mike Elko era were high, though most believed a College Football Playoff berth was still at least a year away.

Five weeks in, Texas A&M is in playoff conversations. According to ESPN’s Playoff Predictor, the Aggies currently hold the eighth-best odds in the nation at 56 percent to make the postseason.

Only three SEC teams are projected higher: Georgia (57 percent), Ole Miss (68 percent), and Alabama (69 percent). Right behind A&M sit Texas (51 percent), Oklahoma (46 percent), Vanderbilt (43 percent), Missouri (34 percent), Tennessee (30 percent), and LSU (23 percent).

Three Hardest Games Left on A&M’s Schedule

LSU head coach Brian Kelly runs off the field before a college football game between Ole Miss and LSU at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss., on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025. Ole Miss defeated LSU 24-19. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The model shows that A&M’s toughest remaining tests all come on the road at Texas, LSU, and Missouri. The Aggies have a 28 percent chance to beat the Longhorns, 43 percent against Missouri, and 47 percent against LSU.

For a team once thought to be a year away, sitting at nearly a coin flip in two of its toughest games is a strong position and a sign that Elko is building something special in College Station.

The first of those three high-stakes matchups comes in Week 9 at Baton Rouge, when the Aggies travel to Death Valley on October 25 to take on LSU. 

Before then, though, three tricky SEC contests remain against Mississippi State, Florida, and Arkansas. Two of those will be at Kyle Field, giving A&M a chance to build momentum before a road trip to Fayetteville.

The stretch begins with Jeff Levy’s Bulldogs, a game where the Aggies open as two-touchdown favorites. Florida then comes to town, bringing an ultra-talented roster that could be fighting to save coach Billy Napier’s job. After that comes a rivalry clash with Arkansas at Fayetteville, a matchup that always seems to go down to the wire regardless of records.

Following those games, the Aggies face the gauntlet that will define their season: LSU, Missouri, and Texas. A&M heads to Columbia on November 8, where Mizzou will be looking for revenge after last year’s 41-10 blowout.

Twenty days later, the Lone Star Showdown returns, this time at the Forty Acres. The Longhorns’ season has been inconsistent, but they remain one of the most talented rosters in the nation. However, with the probable SEC Championship trip on the line and the intensity of the rivalry, all signs point to an instant classic. 

And come November 28, Texas’ current 72 percent odds to win may be even lower based on how both programs are projecting.