Going back to 2008, Texas A&M has faced one of the teams playing in the national championship game in all but 3 seasons (2010, 2011, 2014). The trajectory of the program’s standing over the last decade is trending undeniably upward: a conference change, a Heisman, an SEC Coach of the Year, a trio of top-2 overall draft picks, the highest profile coaching hire in recent memory, and so forth. The Aggies have gone bowling for ten straight seasons, a school record that shows no signs of cooling down any time soon.
For the first time in A&M history, both of the teams playing in the national title game were regular season opponents.