The SEC West is a nightmare to try to win games in, and there is a lot of respect nationally for all of these teams. The Texas A&M Aggies might not start off the season ranked in the Top 10 in America, but if Kevin Sumlin's crew plays up to its potential, this could be a fantastic season in Lubbock.
2015 SCHEDULE
9/5: vs. Arizona State (at Reliant Stadium)
9/12: vs. Ball State
9/19: vs. Nevada
9/26: vs. Arkansas (at Cowboys Stadium)
10/3: vs. Mississippi State
10/17: vs. Alabama
10/24: at Ole Miss
10/31: vs. South Carolina
11/7: vs. Auburn
11/14: vs. Western Carolina
11/21: at Vanderbilt
11/28: at LSU
The first thing that should be notable about this schedule is that there are only three road games on it, just one of which comes before November 21. There is no team in America with a schedule like this one, as the fact that the Aggies will legitimately only have to take one flight the entire year is stunning.
The toughest game of the season, at home against Alabama, comes off of a bye week, but that is a part of the toughest stretch of schedule against Mississippi State, Bama, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Auburn.
SEASON WIN TOTAL
The fact of the matter is that this is a team with the talent to win 10 games this year. Yet, in spite of all of those home games, the number to beat is just seven wins. The vig on the over is high at -210, and bettors could be lined up to place bets on the over for a team which has a lot going for it.
OFFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Kenny Hill is out in Lubbock, and that leaves just Kyle Allen to hold down the quarterback spot all by himself after a year where the two men rotated. Keith Ford, who started his career at Oklahoma, is transferring to Texas A&M as well, which could really make this offense explosive.
A total of eight starters are back from last year's team which averaged 35.2 points per game, including three of five offensive linemen from a very good front line.
Keep a close eye on sophomore receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, who could be set for a jump to the NFL in the near future if he can explode at A&M as many suspect.
DEFENSIVE OUTLOOK
Sumlin knows that his most work is going to have to be done on the defense side of the ball. The Aggies surrendered 450.8 yards and 28.1 points per game, and the only reason the numbers were that low were due to non-conference games against Lamar, Rice and SMU, three terrible clubs along with a game against Louisiana-Monroe.
This is a team which allowed 59 to Alabama, 48 to Mississippi State and 37 against West Virginia, amongst other bad games.
Still, this defensive line should be good, as Julien Obioha, Alonzo Williams and Hardreck Walker could show good improvement now that they’re all seniors.
Eight men are back from last year's defense, though none of the eight are considered All-SEC types of players aside from Myles Garrett, a hybrid linebacker/defensive end.
SEASON PREDICTION
You never know which ones of these teams will ultimately come out of the SEC West. What we do know though, is that the Aggies had better win their first four games of the season, because after that, things are going to get incredibly tough.
We're not big believers in Allen, though he should see appreciable gains from his freshman year to his sophomore season. If he turns into the next Johnny Manziel, the Aggies will be in business with a very friendly schedule. If not, this is another 7-5 type of year waiting to happen.
BookMaker will put out the first point spreads for all of the college football games this season Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
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