Take note, Texas A&M and Alabama. You’re feeling pretty good now, but Auburn is lurking. And Auburn can do that too destroy your whole year.

Psychologists will tell you that it is unhealthy to wish harm on others when you are going through hard times yourself. But psychologists don’t know. Sometimes the best way to survive while you’re in a hole is to drag someone in with you. And wow, is Auburn good at destroying other teams’ dreams.

Texas A&M is first on top and the early signs are not encouraging for the Aggies. Weekday coaching news conferences are generally dull affairs, lukewarm sessions in which the coach praises his opponent and declares how hard his boys will have to work to achieve victory. It’s all deliberately lukewarm; There is no point in reporting news or giving the opposition any motivation.

So it came as somewhat of a surprise when A&M coach Mike Elko committed the equivalent of the press conference earlier this week by running backwards out of his own end zone. A&M (8-2) has just one conference loss this season and is one win away from a spot in the SEC Championship. Only one opponent stands in their way: this weekend’s opponent, little Auburn.

This has everything to do with a classic Trap game. When asked how his team would avoid overlooking Auburn, Elko didn’t exactly stick to the landing.

“I don’t think it’s a problem. When you’re in the situation we’re in, it’s easy to focus on the task at hand,” he said. “Those big games earlier this year, maybe you look ahead. If we didn’t know what was at stake, you might worry about it. I think our focus is entirely on Texas…I mean, Auburn.

Look, it’s understandable. Auburn (4-5, 1-5 conference) has been nothing short of a disaster this season. Quarterback issues, defensive inconsistency, the inability to sustain 60 minutes of intensity, a total disconnect between head coach Hugh Freeze and his players… it’s safe to say this isn’t what the powers that be on The Plains had in mind when they kicked Bryan Harsin to the curb in 2022 and sought a more proven coach.

Auburn must win both of its final two games, against the Aggies and the Tide, to even be bowl eligible. Meanwhile, both Texas A&M and Alabama need to win to maintain their hopes of a spot in the College Football Playoff. There is a small difference in seasonal results, but not in motivation; Ruining someone else’s year is a great way to end your own year on a high note.

“There is no doubt that they play with a champion mentality and commitment,” Freeze said earlier this week.

Freeze indicated that Auburn will have a challenge moving the ball against A&M’s defense and containing mobile Aggie quarterback Marcel Reed. (Freeze has no problem uttering demotivational slogans for his own team.) A&M is a 2.5-point favorite at Auburn. The schools do not have a long history against each other; they have played just fourteen times, twelve of which have come since A&M joined the SEC.

No matter how the A&M game turns out, Auburn still has a bigger prize ahead of it. Depending on how you feel about Army-Navy or Ohio State-Michigan, the Iron Bowl may be the biggest, most unpredictable rivalry in college football, and the lead-up to next week’s game will be a lot more nerve-wracking for the Tide than the Tigers.

Worth noting, however, is that Auburn is five points and two away from a 2-1 win against Alabama in their last three games. Only four overtimes, a Bryce Young win in 2021 and Gravedigger last year saved the day … and in both cases, Alabama was in the top 10 and Auburn was unranked. Guess where the two teams are in this year’s rankings?

So yes, while Texas A&M and Alabama have their eyes on postseason play, they’ll have to be wary before then. The Tigers are lurking, and whether or not you miss them, they are certainly looking right at you.