No. 3 Texas A&M (10-0, 7-0 SEC) will host Samford (1-10) on Saturday afternoon after last Saturday’s historic 27-point comeback win over South Carolina, defeating the Gamecocks 31-30 behind starting quarterback Marcel Reed’s impressive second-half performance, and a defense that did not allow a single point after the half.
This week, rival fan bases who aren’t also facing an FCS opponent will scoff at the Aggies hosting Samford, who is 1-10, and one of the worst teams in the country, but after defeating Notre Dame on the road, three consecutive SEC road wins, and rallying to beat South Carolina, Texas A&M, like most of the top ranked teams in the College Football Playoff rankings will use these games as a tune up before their regular season finales.
For the Aggies, it’s all about finishing the regular season strong, which means playing a complete game and avoiding slow starts. I don’t see the Bulldogs making this a competitive game, even if the Aggies make mistakes. Still, these games exist not just for financial reasons, but also provide every home team another game to work out its remaining issues and give fans in attendance another entertaining, likely high-scoring contest.
It’s fair to say that some on the Texas A&M roster may be looking ahead to the Lone Star Showdown against the Texas Longhorns, but head coach Mike Elko stated this week that his team is entirely focused on defeating the Bulldogs.
According to ESPN’s FPI predictor, Texas A&M unsurprisingly has a 99% chance to defeat Samford, giving the Bulldogs a 1% chance to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets in college football history.
As soon as the game ends, you can be sure that the focus will shift to the Longhorns, as one of the best rivalries in all of sports is just a week away.
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This article originally appeared on Aggies Wire: ESPN FPI predicts Texas A&M vs. Samford in Week 13
Reporting by Cameron Ohnysty, Aggies Wire / Aggies Wire
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