Texas A&M Football: Over/Under 8 Wins in 2016

Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Josh Reynolds (11) attempts to catch a pass against Louisville Cardinals safety Chucky Williams (22) and Cardinals safety Jermaine Reve (27) during the second half of the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Louisville won 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Josh Reynolds (11) attempts to catch a pass against Louisville Cardinals safety Chucky Williams (22) and Cardinals safety Jermaine Reve (27) during the second half of the 2015 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium. Louisville won 27-21. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

5dimes has set the over/under for Texas A&M football wins in 2016 at 8 – is there money to be made?

Related Arkansas Football: Over/Under 7 Wins

Related Georgia Football: Over/Under 9.5 Wins

Related: LSU Football: Over/Under 10.5 Wins

Related: Auburn Football: Over/Under 7.5 Wins

Before we begin, let’s briefly address why the number 8 will be so important. If you’ve been following along with this series, you’ve already about the over/under system and how it works. If not, here’s a simple break down. 5dimes set the over/under number for Texas A&M football wins at 8 for 2016. This means if you decided to place a bet on the Aggies’ season victory total, you would have to pick either under (7 or less), over (9 or more) or a push (exactly 8 wins). I do want to stress that this is just for fun and is not meant to be a betting guide.   Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see if Texas A&M football attaining 8 wins or more is realistic.

Texas A&M football has been ridiculously inconsistent during the entirety of Kevin Sumlin’s tenure. The program could be rising to prominence again, though, due the presence of John Chavis and transfer of Trevor Knight. They could also fail to reach expectations yet again and make Kevin Sumlin’s seat even hotter in College Station.

More from SEC Football

Can Texas A&M football recover from their offensive woes since Johnny Manziel became a walking soap opera when he went to the NFL? Each season Texas A&M football enters the year with high expectations. If Sumlin can’t meet them this year, we could be talking about a new coach leading the Aggies in 2017.

Texas A&M Football 2016 Schedule

UCLA – Win. While the Aggies fail in SEC play, Texas A&M football travels well to other conferences. Just ask Arizona State.

Prairie View A&M – Win.

@Auburn – Win. While I wouldn’t be surprised to see Auburn exceed expectations, I suspect they’ll still be breaking in a new quarterback at this point and will struggle to put up points against a John Chavis defense in his second year.

Arkansas – Win. I think the Aggies get off to a really hot start. Texas A&M football fans will be pumped after winning against their old Big 8 rival.

@ South Carolina – Win. South Carolina just doesn’t have a quarterback that can withstand the pass rush the Aggies will be producing.

Tennessee – Loss. The Aggies dreams of going undefeated will be halted short at the halfway point of the season. Tennessee will have over 200 yards rushing and keep Sumlin’s offense sidelined. 

@ Alabama – Loss. There will be no Johnny Football magic in Tuscaloosa this year. It also won’t be close, as Texas A&M will be exposed after a hot start.

New Mexico State – Win.

@Mississippi State – Toss-up. Texas A&M will have to adjust their style of play after being exposed by Alabama. Mullen will mimic their strategy and Sumlin and Co. have not shown they can make midyear adjustments once things go sour. The Aggies are much better off at quarterback, though.

Ole Miss – Loss. Hugh Freeze gave Texas A&M football fits when Bo Wallace was slinging the ball against Johnny Manziel. While the Aggies pulled out the first two of those games, the Rebels have handled them with relative ease over the last two.

UTSA – Win.

LSU – Toss-up. My guts tells me Sumlin saves his job with a win against LSU, much like Miles did by beating Sumlin in 2015. I’m not sure how much the Aggies will have left in the tank after a hot start and ice cold finish, however.

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Verdict

While many are down on Texas A&M football this year, I think the combination of being in the second year of Chief’s (John Chavis) defense and the fortunate transfer of Trevor Knight push the Aggies past expert’s expectations. The problem, though, is whether or not it will meet Texas A&M football fan’s expectations or not. We’ll see, as such is life in SEC football.