Comeback keeps undefeated Aggies at No. 3 in the AP's Week 13 poll

Survive and advance.

Sure, there’s no bracket...yet...but the ability to win by any means necessary should serve the Aggies well moving forward.

Following a furious comeback victory over South Carolina, Texas A&M again remains No. 3 in the Associated Press’ Week 13 poll.

Mike Elko’s undefeated Aggies are also No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches Poll.

A&M received one first-place vote from the AP in Week 13 and two from the coaches.

Will Huffman, TexAgs

It is Texas A&M’s fifth 10-0 start in program history and the first since 1992. This also marks A&M’s first 10-win season since going 11-2 in 2012.

Of course, the rankings that matter will be updated at 7:30 p.m. CT on Tuesday, so stay tuned to hear how newly-appointed committee chair Hunter Yurachek and Indiana alumna Heather Dinich move the goalposts on A&M following a serious scare vs. South Carolina...after all, we heard last week that the committee is quite impressed with comebacks vs. bad teams.

Regardless of how talking heads try to spin it, the win column cannot be denied: At 10-0, A&M remains one of three undefeated teams. To get there, the Ags showcased their championship culture with many — in Austin, Lubbock, Bloomington and elsewhere — ready to pounce on social media.

“Credit to our guys,” Elko said postgame. “Credit for how they stuck to it. Credit with how they rallied. Credit with how they came together. Thought they did a really, really good job of staying positive and keep fighting to the next play.

“And then for them to go out in the second half and do what they did, that's championship-level football, and obviously, the first half, we didn't do anything right. But at the end of the day, we came out and we did what we had to do to win a football game.”

A tale of two halves, A&M trailed 30-3 at halftime. Whatever was said during the break (can’t wait for The Pulse this week), it worked as the Ags blanked the Gamecocks over the final 30 minutes and scored touchdowns on their first four possessions of the second half behind a Heisman-worthy half of football from Marcel Reed.

“Our biggest competition all year has been ourselves, and we killed ourselves in the first half,” Reed said. “Whether it was dropped passes, we couldn't run the ball or I was turning the ball over. It was all us. It had nothing to do with them at all.

“When we get in that situation, all we need to do is just take a deep breath. And we came at halftime, we talked, and we took a deep breath.”

Reed completed 16 of his 20 second-half passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns as the Aggies outgained the Gamecocks 371-76 after halftime.

With the largest comeback victory in school history and Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma, A&M is now the SEC’s last unbeaten team in conference play at 7-0 as the Aggies currently hold pole position to reach the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta on Dec. 6.

Speaking of the SEC, A&M paces the nine teams from college football’s premier conference currently ranked in the AP’s top 25 with No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 8 Oklahoma, No. 10 Alabama, No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 17 Texas, No. 20 Tennessee and No. 23 Missouri following behind.

Up next for the Maroon & White is a reprieve from conference action as FCS opponent Samford (1-10) comes to Kyle Field on Nov. 22 for an 11 a.m. kickoff.

Associated Press Week 13 Poll
 

OUT: No. 19 Louisville, No. 22 Cincinnati, No. 23 Pittsburgh, No. 25 South Florida
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES: Navy 61, Illinois 31, SMU 28, Arizona St. 19, Louisville 17, Iowa 14, Pittsburgh 12, San Diego St. 12, Arizona 9, UNLV 9, Washington 8, South Florida 6, East Carolina 4, UConn 1.

Italics denotes Southeastern Conference member