College Football Picks, Best Bets

After an early-season home loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and a road loss to a surging South Carolina team that has won four straight, the No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies still on the outside looking for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

But if A&M can win on the road against Auburn and at home against now-No. 3 Texas Longhorns, it could advance not only to the CFP, but also to the SEC Championship.

Can the Aggies pull off a crucial road win against Auburn and potentially upset the Longhorns in their final game of the season to find a back door to the CFP?

Texas A&M vs. Auburn odds

(7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN)

Texas A&M vs. Prediction Auburn

If nothing else, the Auburn Tigers are a phenomenal defensive team, boasting the 15th-highest rated overall defense and ranking 19th in opponent rushing yards per game (fourth-fewest in their last three games) and 24th in opponent points per game .

However, A&M has been great with Marcel Reed starting under center, posting a 5-1 record. The Aggies’ only loss came on the road against South Carolina, and he was hardly to blame for that result.

The Gamecocks decimated A&M in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points behind their rushing attack. They only rushed for 300 yards back in the game.

Still, A&M made some improvements last week and looks like a team that could win out in its final two games to sneak into the SEC Championship.

My faith in Auburn’s offense is at an all-time low after it scored just seven points against Vanderbilt two weeks ago.

And while the Tigers will have some huge stands defensively, I don’t see Thorne moving them down the field enough on this stout A&M defense.

Bet on college football?

Thorne will see a lot of pressure from the Aggies’ 22nd-highest-rated pass-rushing unit and isn’t mobile enough to improvise plays, forcing him to make passes in tight coverage that could result in interceptions.

I’ve seen enough of A&M on the road (2-1) against middling teams to feel comfortable putting the 2.5 points with it.

The urgency will be there.

BEST BET: Texas A&M -2.5 (-110, Caesars)

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Andrew Norton disabled NBA, WNBA, NFL, college basketball and football, UFC and golf. During the 2022-23 NBA season, he posted an outstanding ROI of 14.1%, cashed in 60% of his NBA spread picks and led Tallysight in its SportsIQ metric.