Texas A&M vs. Auburn prediction, odds: 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 games, the No.15 Texas A&M Aggies are still on the outside looking in for the 12-team College Football Playoff.However, if A&M can win on the road against Auburn and at home against the now-No.

3 Texas Longhorns, it could not only advance to the CFP but also to the SEC Championship.Can the Aggies grab a crucial road win against Auburn and potentially upset the Longhorns in their final game of the season to find a backdoor into the CFP?(7:30 p.m.ET, ESPN)If nothing else, the Auburn Tigers are a phenomenal defensive team, boasting the 15th-highest-graded 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 fantastic with Marcel Reed starting under center, holding a 5-1 record.

The Aggies’ sole loss came on the road against South Carolina, and he was hardly to blame for that outcome.The Gamecocks decimated A&M in the second half, scoring 24 unanswered points behind their rushing attack.They rushed for just shy of 300 yards in the game.Still, A&M made some improvements last week and appear to be a team that could win out in its final two games to sneak into the SEC Championship.My faith level 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 a few huge stands defensively, I don’t see Thorne moving them down the field enough on this strong A&M defense. Thorne will experience a lot of pressure from the Aggies’ 22nd-highest-graded pass-rushing unit and is not mobile enough to improvise plays, forcing him to make passes into tight coverage that could result in interceptions.I’ve seen enough from A&M on the road (2-1) against middle-of-the-road teams to feel good about laying the 2.5 points wi...