“Google me, I win,” Curt Cignetti’s confidence resonates perfectly with his team’s success as they go 10-0 this season. Taking down Penn State last week, Indiana now holds the higher spot in every ranking. Yet Johnny Manziel was not convinced of one of their star players. Another concerning news was that their No. 2 rank in Week 11’s AP poll didn’t sit well with Josh Pate, as he snubbed them for an SEC giant!

Wrapping up Week 11’s games, AP released its top 25 teams, and as expected, Ohio State holds the top position, followed by Indiana and Texas A&M. But analyst Josh Pate doesn’t think Curt Cignetti’s team should get a higher rank than the Aggies. Explaining it on his show, he said, “So, Indiana State at number two. A&M still at number three. I would switch those two right now; I would put A&M at number two. I think the playoff committee may very well jump over Indiana. And that’s not punishment for Indiana as much as it is credit for A&M going on the road against a top 20-ranked team, a top 25-ranked team, and really kind of handling them. Like that’s another data point on a resume.”

Now, knowing the fact that the committee focuses on “strength of schedule,” Mike Elko’s team fits the bill well. They are coming off a dominant 38-17 win over Missouri. Now they sit with a perfect 9-0 record, three road wins over ranked teams, including the LSU Tigers and Notre Dame, both ranked 9th in the AP poll. This makes a major push for them to surpass not just Indiana but also Ohio State, taking the No. 1 spot in the AP poll and in college football rankings.

Look, the Big Ten teams are also undefeated heading into Week 12, but their schedules are weaker than Mike Elko’s team. Ohio State has beaten two ranked teams, Texas and Washington, while Indiana secured a historic win at Penn State, Iowa, and Oregon. But apart from them, they didn’t have any tough opponents. Even ESPN ranks Texas A&M’s schedule strength 16th, which is much higher than Ohio State’s 33rd and Indiana’s 39th. That makes sense, too.

Indiana has teams like Wisconsin and Purdue remaining in their regular season, whereas Texas A&M still has to play South Carolina, Samford, and the Texas Longhorns. Now, Indiana’s defense was a major criterion, making them a bit better than Texas A&M, as through nine games they had a stop rate of 77.5%, which is better than their last year 73%. But against Penn State, that didn’t work, as they allowed 24 points to a weak Penn State team led by a backup QB. On top of that, knowing the Nittany Lions’ struggles with offense, this number looked lower for the Hoosiers’ defense.

So now you know why Pate thinks the AP poll made a mistake putting A&M at three, and with that, Curt Cignetti’s team gets another hit.

Curt Cignetti’s QB draws doubts from Johnny Manziel

Well, the entire credit for Texas A&M and Indiana’s success goes to their QBs Marcel Reed and Fernando Mendoza, who are leading the offense. But now that the regular season is nearing its end, fans are buzzing over Heisman favorites, and so are former players. As an Aggie, Heisman-winning QB Johnny Manziel is right there backing Reed and rooting for him to have better odds than Mendoza.

But according to the odds, Mendoza stands just below Julian Sayin at +170 odds, whereas Marcel Reed is at +700, which is far away from him. Even Shannon Sharpe backs the Indiana QB up on the Nightcap podcast, saying, “Here’s the thing, though, Johnny. He was already the favorite coming in, and he hadn’t had a moment now. I’m not—you’re saying you believe that Marcel will have his moment against Texas.” But Manziel hit right at him, showing full support towards Reed.

“It’s coming for sure. I’mma stand on it right now. I’m stand on it. Of course. I want to see a third Heisman be brought back to Aggieland.” Mendoza had a bit of a “sloppy” game against Penn State as he completed 19 of 30 for 218 yards with one touchdown and one interception. In comparison, Reed went for 221 yards with two touchdowns. The Aggies QB will have his big moment against the Longhorns, which will push his Heisman odds even further. Now, it will be interesting to see if that’s the case in the future.