Texas A&M enters the bye week with more questions than answers after falling to No. 13 Alabama on the road, 31-20, as the Aggies held a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter before fumbling on fourth down, giving Alabama back-to-back touchdowns. Overall, Texas A&M still looks like the third-worst team in the SEC.
It's hard not to judge third-year coach Mike Elko's decision to elevate Holmon Wiggins and Lyle Hemphill as the team's offensive and defensive coordinator with little to no play-calling experience, and while Wiggins' early game plan resulted in the Aggies' highest first-half scoring output in SEC play, the offense couldn't respond after Alabama's first second-half touchdown.
After the bye, the Aggies will face South Carolina on the road,
Tennessee at home, Oklahoma in Norman, and Texas at home, and won't be favored in either game, on track to finish 4-8 barring an upset or two. For A&M to have any shot at winning two more games to earn bowl eligibility, it must make changes over the next two weeks, but I highly doubt Mike Elko will make any staff changes, especially with starting quarterback Marcel Reed keeping his job.
Kentucky now sits atop the SEC standings after defeating Vanderbilt, while Texas's thrilling 34-27 win over Ole Miss kept the Longhorns' CFP hopes alive.
After losing to Alabama, Texas A&M dropped two spots to No. 22 in ESPN's Football Power Index with a rating of 13.4. The Aggies are currently the ninth-highest-ranked SEC team, trailing Oklahoma (No. 19), Florida (No. 17), Tennessee (No. 12), Ole Miss (No. 9), Texas (No. 8), LSU (No. 7), Alabama (No. 5), and Georgia (No. 4).
Following Saturday's loss, ESPN's FPI also currently projects Texas A&M's win-loss record at 5.6-6.4 and a 2.8% chance to win out. Per ESPN's FPI, Texas A&M also has a 0% chance to win the SEC and a 0% chance to make the College Football Playoff.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: Where Texas A&M sits in ESPN FPI rankings after losing at Alabama
