
Against all odds: What are Texas A&M's chances to reach the 2025 SEC Championship?
Against all odds: What are Texas A&M's chances to reach the 2025 SEC Championship?
After finishing last year's campaign 8-5 (5-3 SEC), the Texas A&M football program is eyeing another opportunity to reach the Southeastern Conference Championship in 2025.
It will be easier said than done, however. The conference is in no short supply of depth and talent, as 12 teams have odds of 5000 or better to make an appearance in the championship game this season. The question is, what are the odds the Aggies reach the SEC Championship for the first time in program history?
According to BetMGM, here are the current odds for each SEC program to participate in this year's conference championship.
Texas A&M was within striking distance of reaching the championship game last season, before the Aggies dropped three of four contests to close out the regular season. Heading into the second year under head coach Mike Elko, the Aggies fanbase is clamoring for more.
With the talent on this year's squad, reaching the big game is a realistic goal for the Aggies. Sophomore dual-threat quarterback Marcel Reed returns after finishing last season by throwing for 1,864 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Aggies also brought in multiple outstanding transfers during the offseason, including former NC State standout wide receiver KC Concepcion and Mississippi State's Mario Craver. Not to mention, running back Le'Veon Moss returns after showcasing his ability to lead the Aggies on the ground last season.
This year's schedule is daunting, however. Texas A&M has to go on the road at Notre Dame, LSU, and Texas this season. According to On3 Sports, the Aggies' schedule is the ninth-toughest in the country in 2025. The program's strength of schedule is 0.807, and its projected win total currently stands at 8.1.
Out of On3's top 10 most difficult schedules this season, nine programs are from the SEC. With everyone facing a new challenge on the road to reaching the apex of the conference, it will be intriguing to see how the Texas A&M Aggies handle the adversity that will eventually arise throughout this year's campaign.
Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes and opinions. Follow Dylan on X: @dylanmflippo.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Strong offseason puts UNC basketball in ESPN's latest Preseason Top 25 Rankings
Strong offseason puts UNC basketball in ESPN's latest Preseason Top 25 Rankings Can the UNC basketball team surpass its preseason expectations? Thanks to their high-profile additions in the transfer portal, the North Carolina Tar Heels should be one of college basketball's best teams in the 2025-2026 season. Needing to address its underwhelming size in the post, UNC nabbed one of the portal's greatest players in Henri Veesaar, the 7-foot center who played his first two years at Arizona. North Carolina also found its projected starting point guard in Kyan Evans, 6'11" power forward and Chapel Hill native Jarin Stevenson, plus a pair of shooting guards in Jonathan Powell and Jaydon Young. In addition to their portal activity, the Tar Heels are returning experienced guard Seth Trimble and bringing in 5-star power forward Caleb Wilson. Despite Drake Powell declaring for – and later deciding to stay in the NBA Draft – UNC is a team to watch this coming winter. In ESPN's updated preseason Top 25 rankings, this time after the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline, Jeff Borzello kept North Carolina at 25th. "Hubert Davis has been busy in the portal, replacing the departing Elliot Cadeau and Ian Jackson with transfers Kyan Evans (Colorado State) and Jonathan Powell (West Virginia)," Borzello said. "Davis also landed one of the best bigs in the portal with Arizona's Henri Veesaar, as well as upside players in Alabama's Jarin Stevenson and Virginia Tech's Jaydon Young." With Seth Trimble's return and top-10 recruit Caleb Wilson's arrival, there's a talented core in Chapel Hill," Borzello continued. "But Carolina had also been swinging (and missing) on impact wings, especially after Drake Powell opted to remain in the NBA draft, despite not appearing to be a lock first-round pick. That drought ended when Montenegrin wing Luka Bogavac picked North Carolina. The 22-year-old should make an immediate impact as a shooter." As a reminder, preseason rankings mean virtually nothing, but it's nice to see UNC getting some recognition. What matters most is where the Tar Heels end their campaign – hopefully, this coming season, that's with a seventh National Championship. Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.


USA Today
32 minutes ago
- USA Today
Steelers LB Cole Holcomb describes difficult injury process — ready to compete in 2025
Steelers LB Cole Holcomb describes difficult injury process — ready to compete in 2025 Steelers LB Cole Holcomb is finally healthy after suffering a devastating knee injury back in 2023. At Steelers OTAs on Tuesday, Holcomb explained how difficult it was being sidelined (courtesy of Steelers Live): "Yeah, it's hard — I'm a pretty impatient person. Definitely had some days where you just want to be out there and it's frustrating — but it's kind of just one of those take it one day at a time." Holcomb then touched on how the state of the linebacker room has changed since his injury — and how he fits into the group: "I got to know [Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson] pretty well last year. I tried to stay as involved as I could. Now, being able to come out here and play with those guys has been great. Just trying to get in where I fit in — love the competition. I love competing, so it's been great." If Holcomb can effectively rotate with Wilson and Queen on defense, the Steelers may very well have the best inside linebacker unit in the NFL. For up-to-date Steelers coverage, follow us on X @TheSteelersWire and give our Facebook page a like.
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Greg Sankey leaves SEC Spring Meetings with final message to College Football Playoff committee
MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — As SEC commissioner Greg Sankey arrived for his final press conference at the league's spring meetings, sheets of data were passed around showing one key finding, a finding the conference made clear on the sheets' title: "A Regular Season Gauntlet." During the SEC Spring Meetings, conversations about College Football Playoff format and about the possible extension of the league's conference schedule from eight to nine games raged on, but no definitive decisions were made. Advertisement The SEC still has no 2026 schedule set. Sankey said he has a "date-ish" in mind to determine the league's 2026 schedule, but that "dates are movable." In his final message of spring meetings, Sankey preached a desire to understand the CFP's criteria for strength of schedule, showing multiple data points that showcased that the SEC has to navigate a strength of schedule completely different than the Big Ten, the Big 12 and the ACC. "This thing is not like any other," Sankey said. "So that makes me wonder how do we analyze the strength of schedule? How playing a highly-ranked opponent is not just a game, but it's a game against a highly-ranked opponent, even in a conference setting. I think the number of those games too. Anybody in the football world — so I'm not a football coach, didn't play football — will identify the week after week after week of those high-level games is a really big factor in the team's win and loss records. We're just different in this universe." Sankey said the SEC Spring Meetings included conversations about several models, including a "5+11" model that would include five automatic bids for conference champions and six at-large bids. According to a report from Yahoo, Big Ten athletic directors were said to not support the model if the SEC were to remain at only eight conference games. Advertisement For Sankey, that's where the strength of schedule criteria for the CFP comes into play. "I think it suggests the need for consideration, and I do think there is a need for change," Sankey said. "How do you explain some of the decisions that have been made? I'll go back to Georgia a year-and-a-half ago. Georgia was a two-time defending national champion. They lost one game in our championship game against Alabama. Not a lot of noise about them. Being undefeated was never an expectation for being selected into the four-team (CFP). That just isn't perfect criteria. Otherwise, North Dakota State would be in. "How do you make those decisions? And it's hard. And we trust the committee to do that. And I respect the people in there. This isn't a criticism of the people. This is a wanting to understand the decisions. And we have to have better clarity on the criteria that informs those decisions." Leaving Miramar Beach, Florida, Sankey said he feels the SEC is closer to what it wants out of the CFP moving forward. Therefore, he feels the SEC has moved closer on a decision to play either eight or nine conference games. Advertisement And as conversations continue, without a CFP format secured in 2026 and without a league schedule set in 2026, Sankey understands the SEC's role. "We're kind of important," Sankey said. "We've been important in that decision." Colin Gay covers Alabama football for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at cgay@ or follow him @_ColinGay on X, formerly known as Twitter. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Greg Sankey leaves SEC Spring Meetings with final message to CFP committee