Dec. 7, 2025, 3:14 p.m. CT

Texas A&M (11-1, 7-1 SEC) is in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history, but it won’t be easy, earning the No. 7-seed, in a bracket that features No. 10 Miami (FL) (10-2) in the first round, as the Aggies will host the Hurricanes in an early noon ET kickoff, instead of what many of us assumed would be a night game in Kyle Field.

Either way, the Aggies have made the CFP for the first time in program history and are more than talented enough to make a deep run in the postseason. However, the reality still stings: knowing that a win against the Texas Longhorns at the end of the regular season would likely have resulted in a first-round bye, or at least a top-five seed.

However, Texas A&M should have been ranked No. 6 ahead of Ole Miss, as the Rebels are ranked lower in both strength of schedule and strength of record, yet they share the same 11-1 record with just one conference loss. None of this has to do with Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU, and CFP Chair Hunter Yurachek, yet again, provided a non-answer regarding the decision to place the Rebels above the Aggies during his appearance on ESPN.

“That just really stood pat. Those teams, five through eight, none of whom played this week in any type of championship game scenario, we didn’t feel like we had anything from the championship games that were played that impacted the standing of Ole Miss vs. Texas A&M.”

The fact that Alabama, which lost 28-7 to Georgia in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game, did not drop in the rankings, staying at No. 9, is another example of Championship Weekend having almost zero effect on the “eye test” regarding teams on the bubble.

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While it was always fair to knock the Aggies down from No. 3 after losing to Texas, Yurachek has failed to explain whether SOS and SOR actually matter when comparing team rankings. Ole Miss, despite potentially facing No. 3 Georgia in the quarterfinals, will now host No. 11 Tulane, which the Rebels defeated 45-10 earlier this season.

No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami will kick off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 20. It will air on ABC.

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