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CFP Top 25 Countdown: No. 14 Texas A&M Looks To Defy Odds In 2024

· Aug 13 - 6 minutes read

Quarterback Conner Weigman is one of many Texas A&M players who missed significant time in 2023.
Mike Elko takes over at Texas A&M after Jimbo Fisher was fired.
Most of Texas A&M’s toughest games come at home during the regular season.
Check out the reasons why Texas A&M is at No. 14 in the BetUS list of the Top 25 college football teams in 2024.

When Texas A&M hired Jimbo Fisher away from Florida State, the Aggies had visions of multiple College Football Playoff appearances and some runs at SEC titles as well. An 11-11 record since the start of the 2022 season led Texas A&M to make college football news by firing Fisher with two games left in the regular season.

CFP Top 25 Countdown: No. 14 Texas A&M Looks To Defy Odds In 2024 — Conner Weigman #15 of the Texas A&M Aggies-Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP

Mike Elko, a former assistant coach for the Aggies, has a tough act to follow as Fisher was cut loose after going 45-25 with two second-place finishes in the SEC Western Division.

Texas A&M was picked ninth in the SEC preseason poll. The Aggies come in at No. 20 in both the Associated Press and American Football Coaches Association polls, but in the BetUS Top 25 Countdown, Texas A&M is No. 14.

No rep for granted.#GigEm pic.twitter.com/NK9MIqqZoB

— Texas A&M Football (@AggieFootball) August 12, 2024

The BetUS sportsbook odds have the Aggies tied for seventh at +1200 in the SEC championship odds. Texas A&M is priced at +200 to make it into the College Football Playoffs and has +4500 odds of winning the national title.

Texas A&M Aggies at a Glance

2023 record: 7-6
2023 SEC record: 4-4
Head coach: Mike Elko
Odds to win SEC title: +1200

Weigman Looks to Air It Out for Aggies

There has been a revolving door at quarterback for the Aggies, with eight QBs playing since the start of the 2020 season. Keeping Conner Weigman healthy is a priority so Elko brought in four offensive linemen via the transfer portal while Chase Bisontis withdrew his name from the portal and returned to A&M.

Weigman is 11th at +2000 in the Heisman Trophy odds. He has +3500 odds to lead the SEC in passing yards.

The running back position has more questions than answers with the reports that Rueben Owens will miss the season due to injury. Owens split carries with Amari Daniels and Le’Veon Moss in 2023, although none of them were overly impressive.

Texas A&M running back Rueben Owens is expected to miss the season after a lower body injury in Saturday’s scrimmage, per @ontexasfootball and ESPN.

How his absence will affect Collin Klein’s offense, which still has a top half of the SEC RB tandem.https://t.co/ndxwxBjGUG

— Carter Yates (@Carter_Yates16) August 11, 2024

Leading receiver Ainais Smith is now with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. Jahdae Walker and Noah Thomas join Moose Muhammad at receiver. Tight end Donovan Green is back after missing all of 2023.

Texas A&M had a top-20 recruiting class with cornerback Terry Bussey and defensive lineman Dealyn Evans top-100 recruits. Texas A&M is two years removed from signing the top recruiting class in the country. However, some of the top players from that class have headed elsewhere. That has impacted the NCAA football odds for Texas A&M.

The Aggies were pretty active in the transfer portal with Purdue edge rusher Nic Scourton, Alabama cornerback Dezz Ricks, Bowling Green edge rusher Cashius Howell and Louisiana Tech receiver Cyrus Allen among 28 incoming transfers.

The Aggies did see defensive lineman Walter Nolen and receiver Evan Stewart lead the list of outgoing transfers.

The defense needs to replace star linebacker Edgerrin Cooper after he led the Aggies in tackles and sacks. Taurean York was impressive as a freshman while Bryce Anderson returns at safety.

The defensive line could be a strength of this team. Shemar Turner had six sacks and two forced fumbles while having DJ Hicks and Shemar Stewart for the entire season will be a huge boost. Scourton is coming off a season with 15 tackles for loss and 10 sacks.

Texas A&M 2024 Betting Outlook

Elko did a nice job at Duke and he has much more talent to work with now that he is in College Station.

Texas A&M was 0-4 in one-score games last season and is 1-9 against ranked teams over the last two seasons so there is some work to do.

The Aggies were 6-1 at home last season but were 0-4 on the road. It’s hard to compete in the SEC when you can’t win on the road. The Aggies did cover against the college football spread in four of six games as a home favorite but were 0-3-1 ATS on the road.

With two of the first three games coming against Notre Dame and Florida, it shouldn’t take too long to figure out how things will shake out for this A&M team.

The games against ranked Notre Dame, Missouri, LSU and Texas teams will all be at home and the Aggies don’t have Georgia, Alabama or Ole Miss on the schedule.

Texas A&M is priced at -115 to go either over or under 8½ in our NCAA football regular season wins betting lines. It won’t be a surprise to see the Aggies find a way to win nine games.