Texas A&M Football: What a Last-Place SEC West Finish Would Mean for Aggies

Excitement is at an all-time high for Texas A&M football as the school and program prepare for their inaugural season in the Southeastern Conference. Season tickets for Aggies home games sold out in record time, and everyone is busy planning their road trips to SEC venues.

In the back of every Aggie's mind remains the troubling thought that A&M might not be good enough to compete in the SEC in its inaugural season. What happens if the Aggies finish their first season in the SEC in last place in the SEC West division?

There is no simply answer to that question. It is conceivable that the Aggies could finish last in the conference and still qualify for a bowl game. As long as A&M goes undefeated in non-conference play then that would lessen the impact of a poor SEC record. 

If A&M finishes 7-5 overall with a 3-5 conference record, then it could be last in the West but still eligible for a bowl game. That would qualify as a successful inaugural season for Kevin Sumlin to most Aggies.  

If the Aggies finish 2-6 in conference and 6-6 overall, then that will be deemed acceptable by some. The Aggies really need to go to a bowl game in Sumlin's inaugural season to keep the recruiting momentum going, and a 6-6 season would not get it done.

A 1-7 record or 0-8 record in the SEC would simply be unacceptable. Even with multiple injuries that would make that record seem reasonable, it would be a disappointment in College Station. Sumlin was hired in Aggieland to build the program back up, not to take a step backwards. A losing record would definitely qualify as taking a step backwards.

There are a number of Big 12 schools in the state of Texas who would delight in the Aggies failure in their inaugural season. They would point out to recruits that A&M apparently cannot compete in its new league and that if you wanted to win football games in college, you needed to attend a Big 12 school.

This could be very damaging on the recruiting trail. A&M needs to be competitive in its new conference if it want to compete with the top SEC teams on the recruiting trail. Recruits are not going to sign with A&M so they can get blown out by LSU every season.

The Aggies finishing last would give credence to the myriad of media members who predicted that A&M would get their heads kicked in once they joined the SEC.

A poor season by A&M coupled with great seasons by Texas, TCU, LSU and Alabama could really hurt the Ags on the recruiting trail. Recruits do want to win, and if you are perceived as a program that cannot win, then that will hurt you.

It is not a coincidence that A&M is reeling in one of its top recruiting classes in the past two decades, while Texas and OU are coming off of subpar seasons. Even though both teams beat A&M in 2011, the excitement of the conference change and the opportunity to play in the league of champions is a powerful allure to recruits.

If those same recruits see that A&M is unable to compete, then they will go elsewhere to play college ball which will impede A&M's ability to compete in the upcoming years. The Aggies need a lot of help in their front seven on defense. If they lose games and chase defensive line and linebacker recruits off, they could be dooming themselves to the SEC cellar for years to come.

A last-place finish would also make for some awkward moments around the water cooler. Most Aggies work with graduates of Texas graduates and other state schools. No one wants to hear "I told you so" for a year. 

Texas A&M does not have to win the SEC in 2012 in order to have a successful season. However, a last-place finish that would keep A&M out of a bowl could have a deleterious effect on the program going forward.