Florida-Texas A&M
Saturday, Oct. 11
7 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Pacific
ESPN
The Texas A&M Aggies have never been to the SEC Championship Game. Through Week 6, they are unbeaten and have a real chance to play in Atlanta for a first-ever SEC title. What enhances A&M’s chances is that Texas has already fallen off the map. That’s one SEC contender A&M probably won’t have to worry about in terms of end-of-season tiebreakers.
Teams in the SEC are beating each other up. Tennessee lost to Georgia, which lost to Alabama. Florida lost to LSU, which lost to Ole Miss. There is a very good chance that at least one of the two teams in the SEC Championship Game will have two conference losses. A&M, with zero losses entering Week 7, can really solidify its position and give itself some leverage if it can keep winning. A&M could enter November unbeaten, which would mean the Aggies could lose one November game and still have the inside track to Atlanta. Making the SEC Championship Game for the first time would be a tremendous achievement for head coach Mike Elko, who has done nothing to suggest that A&M erred when it hired him to replace Jimbo Fisher.
Florida-Texas A&M is another hot-seat game for Billy Napier
Can Florida’s coach once again win with his back against the wall?
Florida coach Billy Napier is something else. He is very clearly falling short of goals and expectations at Florida, but just when it seems he is done and dusted, he gets off the mat. Napier loses enough to not make big bowls or compete for conference championships, but he always wins when a knife is held at his throat. Napier did it again last week by beating Steve Sarkisian, Arch Manning, and the Texas Longhorns. Florida snaps into focus and plays at — or close to — the expected standard when Napier’s job is squarely on the line. Why this can’t happen on a consistent basis — but only when Napier is in trouble — is a source of endless fascination and confusion, but it has been the pattern at Florida for the past few seasons. Napier will now try to win another hot-seat game, this time on the road against an opponent which has a lot to play for.
Florida Gators-Texas A&M Aggies Odds
Hear TJ Rives and Jason Powers break down this game on the “3 Dog Thursday” Podcast by clicking Play below:
Spread: Florida +7.5 (-110), Texas A&M -7.5 (-110)
Total: 47.5 (Over -115, Under -105)
Underdog moneyline: Florida +240
The Florida offense, with quarterback DJ Lagway at the controls, was surprisingly good last week against Texas. Was this more a case of Florida figuring out how to play the right way, or was it more an indication of how messed up Texas is at the moment? If Florida really has found something on offense, such that it will be able to sustain a moderately high level of performance from week to week, this game could get very difficult for Texas A&M.
Aggie quarterback Marcel Reed is a talented runner but not a polished thrower. He does not read the field well and is likely to make at least one or two mistakes. A&M’s best path to victory is to dominate the Florida offense. If the Gators don’t turn the ball over and can score at least 20 points, it’s unlikely that A&M can score in the high 20s or low 30s, which is what the Aggies would need to cover the spread. This is an underdog you can ride with: Florida plus the 7.5 points.