Texas A&M pressing for No. 1 CFP spot, topples another ranked team on the road

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Texas A&M put the College Football Playoff selection committee on the spot with yet another impressive road win over a ranked opponent on Saturday

The Aggies (9-0), No. 3 behind Ohio State and Indiana in the first set of CFP rankings released on Tuesday, scored a 38-17 win at No. 22 Missouri on Saturday.

It could be enough for Texas A&M to jump the Buckeyes and Hoosiers, depending on the weight the CFP committee puts on schedule strength when evaluating the teams this week.

The Aggies now have three road wins over AP-ranked opponents, as they also beat currently No. 10-ranked Notre Dame in South Bend (41-40) and then-No. 20 LSU in Baton Rouge 49-25.

The Buckeyes (9-0), who beat a 2-8 Purdue team on the road Saturday (34-10), have two wins over currently ranked CFP Top 25 teams, having beaten No. 11 Texas (14-7) in Columbus and No. 23 Washington (24-6) in Seattle.

The Hoosiers (10-0), who got the school’s first-ever win at Penn State (3-6) on Saturday -- winning 27-24 with a last-minute touchdown -- have wins over two ranked opponents on the road: at No. 20 Iowa (20-15) and at No. 9 Oregon (30-20).

ESPN ranked Texas A&M’s schedule strength 16th entering its game with Missouri, while Ohio State’s was 33rd and Indiana’s 39th.

The discrepancy between the Aggies’ schedule strength and that of Ohio State and Indiana will only grow wider based on the teams’ respective opponents’ records.

Indeed, Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz called out the CFP committee and the inconsistent application of metrics earlier in the week, noting how Texas A&M’s schedule strength was superior to that of the two Big Ten unbeatens.

Regardless of how the top three teams shake out when second set of CFP rankings are revealed at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Alabama (8-1), Georgia (8-1) and Ole Miss (9-1) figure to hold their spots at No 4, No. 5 and No. 6, as each won in impressive fashion on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide rolled LSU (20-9), the Bulldogs went on the road and dominated Mississippi State (41-21) and the Rebels handed The Citadel a 49-0 beatdown.

Texas Tech (9-1) beat previously unbeaten BYU (8-1) by a 29-7 count in Lubbock to claim first-place in the Big 12 and should move up from No. 8 to No. 7 in the CFP rankings.

Oregon’s 18-16 escape at No. 20 Iowa should move the Ducks (8-1) up a spot to No. 8.

Notre Dame (7-2) pulled away to beat Navy 49-10 and projects to be at No. 9, while Texas (7-2), Oklahoma (7-2) were idle and could move up to the No 10 and No. 11 spots.

BYU, with its first loss of the season, shouldn’t fall any lower than No. 12 – a spot ahead of idle Utah (7-2) – by virtue of its 24-21 win over the Utes earlier this season.

The most noteworthy conference race shifts to the ACC, which, as a Power 4 conference, will see its conference championship game winner get an automatic bid into the CFP field of 12 regardless of rank.

Virginia, the highest-ranked team in the ACC last week at No. 14, stumbled at home with a 16-9 loss to Wake Forest, leaving the Cavaliers 8-2 overall and in a three-way atop the conference standings with a 5-1 league mark.

Georgia Tech (8-1) and Pitt (7-2) were both idle on Saturday, and they also sit at 5-1 in ACC play.

SMU is also 5-1 in league play, but the Mustangs are 7-3 overall, meaning it would need to win the ACC championship game to return to the College Football Playoff.

The Yellow Jackets figure to be the ACC’s highest-ranked team in the CFP standings this week, projecting to move up from No. 17 to No. 15, as Louisville (No. 15) suffered a 29-26 upset loss at home to Cal, dropping the Cardinals to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in league play.

The Panthers play host to Notre Dame next Saturday before tackling the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta on Nov. 22 in what could amount to a play-in game for the ACC championship game.

The automatic bid that goes to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion remains very much up for grabs after Tulane’s 38-32 win over Memphis on Friday night shifted projections.

The Tigers, ranked No 22 in the AP poll, were considered the highest-ranked Group of Five team

James Madison, the Sun Belt Conference leader with an 8-1 overall record and 6-0 league mark, project to be the highest-ranked Group of Five team this week.

Updated CFP field projection

First-round byes

No. 1 Texas A&M (Projected SEC champ)

No. 2 Ohio State (Projected Big Ten champ)

No. 3 Indiana

No. 4 Alabama

First round games

No. 12 James Madison (Projected Group of 5) at No. 5 Georgia

No. 11 Georgia Tech (Projected ACC champ) at No. 6 Ole Miss

No. 10 Texas at No. 7 Texas Tech (Projected Big 12 champ

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Oregon

How the Top 25 teams in the CFP rankings fared this week and who they play next weekend:

1. Ohio State (9-0) won at Purdue, 34-10

Vs. UCLA next Saturday

2. Indiana (10-0) won at Penn State, 27-24

Vs. Wisconsin next Saturday

3.Texas A&M (9-0) won at Missouri, 38-17

Vs. South Carolina next Saturday

4. Alabama (8-1) defeated LSU, 20-9

Vs. No. 12 Oklahoma next Saturday

5. Georgia (8-1) won at Mississippi State, 41-21

Vs. No. 11 Texas next Saturday

6. Ole Miss (8-1) defeated The Citadel, 49-0

Vs. Florida next Saturday

7. BYU (8-1) lost at Texas Tech, 29-7

Vs. TCU next Saturday

8. Texas Tech (9-1) defeated No. 7 BYU, 29-7

Vs. UCF next Saturday

9. Oregon (8-1) won at No 20 Iowa, 18-16

Vs. Minnesota next Friday

10. Notre Dame (7-2) defeated Navy, 49-10

At No. 24 Pitt next Saturday

11. Texas (7-2) did not play

At No. 5 Georgia next Saturday

12. Oklahoma (7-2) did not play

At No. 4 Alabama next Saturday

13. Utah (7-2) did not play

At Baylor next Saturday

14. Virginia (8-2) lost to Wake Forest, 16-9