As kickoff to the 2025-2026 college football season inches closer with the passing of each day, ESPN's Football Power Index continues to trend in favor of Texas A&M being one of the top 10 programs in the country.
The updated FPI was conducted on Saturday, marking the first significant change to the rankings since June. Entering the summer months, the Aggies were placed at No. 8 in the rating system. ESPN first introduced FPI rankings back in 2011 to provide the college football landscape with a systematic and analytic alternative, compared to other polls and rankings.
ESPN's model uses certain aspects like returning production, last year's performances and any changes to recruiting or coaching that could play integral roles in a program's success. Like any model, poll and ranking that attempts to predict the unpredictable, it has some upside and many flaws.
However, here is where the latest ESPN FPI ranking places Texas A&M and the other schools in the Southeastern Conference heading into this season:
While the Aggies did receive a bump down to No. 9 in this latest update, the metrics are trending more in favor of second-year head coach Mike Elko having a top-10 squad in 2025. Only four SEC programs received an increase in the latest ESPN FPI, while Texas A&M and two others were demoted from their original positions:
No. 1 Texas
No. 2 Georgia
No. 3 Alabama
No. 8 Tennessee (+2)
No. 9 Texas A&M (-1)
No. 10 Ole Miss (+3)
No. 11 South Carolina (+4)
No. 12 LSU
No. 13 Florida (+5)
No. 20 Oklahoma (-4)
No. 21 Auburn (-7)
No. 23 Missouri
As with any ranking system, it received much backlash from college football fans who questioned the validity of the placements of some teams on this list. Teams like Tennessee, which rank No. 8 on this list, just named UCLA transfer Joey Aguilar the starting quarterback after weeks of controversy surrounding who would be the guy for the Vols in 2025. Like the Auburn Tigers at No. 21, Josh Heupel's crew in Knoxville seems quite shaky to be placed ahead of teams like Texas A&M, LSU and South Carolina, all of which have a signal-caller with experience playing in the league at the helm.
Elko and company hit the recruiting trail hard following last year's 8-5 (5-3 in SEC) overall finish, racking up talent like standout North Carolina State wide receiver KC Concepcion, who is ranked by On3 Sports as the No. 9 overall player in this offseason's transfer portal. The Aggies could also have one of the most dangerous dual-threat quarterbacks in the league in sophomore Marcel Reed, should he continue to develop under Collin Klein's offensive system the way he concluded last year's efforts.
Regardless of what the FPI predicts, Texas A&M still has a season that is not shy of top-tier competition. Elko will take his squad to South Bend, Indiana, for a second consecutive matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, after falling 23-13 at Kyle Field in 2024. The Aggies will also face LSU, South Carolina, Florida, Auburn, Missouri and Texas, all of which rank in ESPN's FPI top 25.
Over the last decade, the FPI-favorite has won 75% of FBS games. That number has increased to 77% in the previous four years, which supports the ratings. Just like with any way-too-early rankings and predictions, it is too soon to forecast how Texas A&M and the other members of the league will fare this season. For now, college football fans will have rankings, ratings and unpredictable guesses to make before the season kicks off in five days.
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