This SEC top-10 contender will fall out of AP Top 25 by season’s end

This SEC top-10 contender will fall out of AP Top 25 by season’s end

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This SEC top-10 contender will fall out of AP Top 25 by season’s end

For the last 23 seasons, excluding 2019, at least one team ranked in the top 10 of the preseason AP Top 25 poll finished the year unranked.

On Monday, the 2026 preseason AP Top 25 poll was released and we know who those top 10 teams are that could suffer a major collapse.

  1. Ohio State
  2. Oregon
  3. Georgia
  4. Notre Dame
  5. Texas
  6. Indiana
  7. Miami (FL)
  8. Texas A&M
  9. Ole Miss
  10. LSU

Indiana might be the team some people lean toward. The Hoosiers are not a historic power in college football, but Curt Cignetti has proven what he can do. IU will now be on its third starting quarterback in three years of Cignetti, but until he proves he can’t win — just Google him — we can’t be harsh on the Hoosiers.

MORE: 2026 College Football Playoff projection: Oregon, Notre Dame take top spots

An SEC program could falter

NCAA Football: Florida at Texas A&M

Oct 11, 2025; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Mike Elko looks on prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

There might be three Big Ten teams initially ranked, but there are also five SEC programs ranked inside the top 10.

And there is one team in particular that could falter by the end of the season, and that’s the Texas A&M Aggies.

Mike Elko has done wonders with the Aggies, taking Texas A&M to the College Football Playoff last season. And even though Texas A&M should have another stout defense and quarterback Marcel Reed returns, the schedule could get in the Aggies’ way.

Road blunders ahead

NCAA Football: CFP National Playoff First Round-Game 2-Miami at Texas A&M

Dec 20, 2025; College Station, TX, USA; Miami Hurricanes defensive back Bryce Fitzgerald (13) intercepts a pass intended for Texas A&M Aggies tight end Theo Melin Ohrstrom (17) during the game between the Aggies and the Hurricanes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)

Most of Texas A&M’s most difficult games come on the road. The Aggies play at No. 11 LSU, at No. 25 Missouri, at No. 13 Alabama, and at No. 10 Oklahoma. Texas A&M will only play two ranked teams in College Station this season and both come toward the end of the season.

The Aggies will host No. 20 Tennessee in the third-to-last game of the season, and in the regular-season finale, Texas A&M will host No. 5 Texas.

If Texas A&M is going to get back into the CFP this season, or even compete for a Big 12 Championship, it’s going to be well earned. But don’t be shocked if Elko’s program stumbles along the way, and adds its name to the wrong side of history.

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