Undefeated at 10-0 for the first time since 1992 and slotted No. 3 in the College Football Playoff rankings, Texas A&M controls its championship destiny with Samford, Texas, the SEC title game, and a playoff run still ahead.
Texas A&M has officially entered championship-or-bust territory.
At 10-0 for the first time since 1992 and 7-0 in SEC play, the Aggies have been rewarded with the No. 3 seed in the latest College Football Playoff rankings heading into Week 13, firmly planting them in the national title conversation.
Oddsmakers have taken notice.
Per BetMGM, Texas A&M sits at +700 to win the National Championship, trailing only Ohio State (+185) and Indiana (+500).
The Aggies are one of three remaining undefeated teams alongside those two Big Ten powers, and one of five SEC teams on the odds board, joined by Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Oklahoma.
Unlike last season, when a late SEC slide derailed promising postseason hopes, the Aggies now fully control their destiny.
Two regular-season games remain before a likely SEC Championship Game appearance and a College Football Playoff berth.
First up is Senior Day at Kyle Field against Samford, followed by a massive road trip to Austin for the renewal of the Lone Star Showdown against Texas.
On paper, Samford looks overmatched.
The Bulldogs enter College Station at 1-10, facing an A&M team that has shown it can overwhelm opponents on both sides of the ball. Still, last week's wild win over South Carolina, where the Aggies surrendered 30 first-half points before rallying behind Marcel Reed's second-half surge, serves as a reminder that no opponent can be taken lightly.
Then comes Texas, and with it all the emotion that accompanies one of college football's most heated rivalries.
The Longhorns have been inconsistent, with a puzzling loss to Florida and narrow escapes against Kentucky and Mississippi State, but records often mean little in this matchup.
The Lone Star Showdown has a way of resetting narratives and turning seasons on a single night.
If Texas A&M avoids a stumble and continues to play at its current level, the odds and the rankings suggest a realistic shot at bringing the National Championship trophy back to Aggieland.
The path is there. Now it's up to the Aggies to finish the job.