How A 9-Game Conference Schedule Affects Texas A&M Football

Already situated in arguably the toughest conference in the country, the Aggies know that wins are hard to come by across the league, and now, everyone will have to go out and get one more. Non-conference matchups now become must-wins, as the College Playoff Committee will not look kindly on even the smallest slipup.

“An additional metric, record strength, has been added to the selection committee’s analysis to go beyond a team’s schedule strength to assess how a team performed against that schedule. This metric rewards teams defeating high-quality opponents while minimizing the penalty for losing to such a team," the College Football Playoff Committee announced. "Conversely, these changes will provide minimal reward for defeating a lower-quality opponent while imposing a greater penalty for losing to such a team.”

The continued lack of East and West divisions in the conference will mean that A&M will need to keep steady its course as the season continues, lest it derail and crash among the waves of a daunting conference gauntlet.

"Adding a ninth SEC game underscores our universities' commitment to delivering the most competitive football schedule in the nation," SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a news release. Tough schedules reward teams with impressive resumes to get into the postseason, something the Aggies will have to take full advantage of.

Additionally, the Aggies and the rest of the SEC will be required to schedule a high-quality non-conference opponent each year from any of the other Power 4 conferences. A&M has already set itself a precedent for this requirement as its two-year contract with Notre Dame has created a star-studded non-conference game for the second year in a row.

Furthermore, head coach Mike Elko and his squad will face every other SEC program at least once every two years and every opponent home and away in four years. This is big news for Aggies fans who have been waiting over a decade for an A&M-Georgia matchup at Kyle Field. Though the Aggies joined the conference in 2012 and have played the Bulldogs three times, none of such games have taken place in College Station.

Recruiting will be paramount as all teams will be vying for a spot in the playoffs and will have to battle each other for the players to get them there. The Aggies have already been hitting the ground running in out-of-state recruiting, but now, they will have to do even better to haul in a solid class.