Once near the top of the rankings, Texas A&M heads in the wrong direction as the postseason approaches. The formerly top-three Aggies dropped four spots to No. 7 in the latest AP Top 25 poll following their 27-17 rivalry week loss to Texas.
It was the first real setback of the season for Texas A&M, which started the year 11-0 while beating up on some of the SEC’s lower-tier teams. The Aggies are now 0-1 against conference opponents that finished the regular season with a winning record in SEC play.
The loss also cost Texas A&M a spot in the SEC Championship Game, which will now be contested between No. 3 Georgia — which moved into the top three as a result of A&M’s loss — and No. 10 Alabama for the third time since 2020. Texas, which is pushing for an at-large bid in the College Football Playoff, continued to creep up in the AP poll from No. 16 to No. 14.
Outside the SEC, Ohio State strengthened its hold on the No. 1 spot, which it has held since beating preseason No. 1 Texas in Week 1 of the season. The Buckeyes cruised past rival Michigan in their regular season finale to set up a monumental clash against No. 2 Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The Group of Five race is still too close to call. James Madison is still ahead at No. 19, but the Dukes are followed closely by a pair of American Conference teams in North Texas (20) and Tulane (21).
Week 15 AP Top 25 rankings
First-place votes in parentheses
- Ohio State (61)
- Indiana (5)
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Texas Tech
- Ole Miss
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Notre Dame
- Alabama
- BYU
- Miami
- Vanderbilt
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- USC
- Michigan
- James Madison
- North Texas
- Tulane
- Arizona
- Navy
- Georgia Tech
- Missouri
Others receiving votes: Tennessee 71, Houston 57, Iowa 51, UNLV 33, New Mexico 20, South Florida 11, SMU 8, Iowa St. 4, Arizona St. 3, Louisville 3, UConn 3, North Dakota St. 3, Illinois 2, Washington 1, Pittsburgh 1, San Diego St. 1
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