Well I somewhat disagree. I know I'm one of the few, but I really like where A&M is headed. Not saying they're going to be consistent National Championship contenders or Sugar Bowl winners, but I think they'll do just fine and start going to good bowl games every year like the Cotton Bowl or Chick-fil-a bowl.
Alabama - VERY good team, best in the SEC West.
Arkansas - about on par with A&M in my opinion.
Auburn - personally I think on the decline, they don't have the depth that Bama does to replace their two biggest playmakers.
LSU - tough team but A&M should compete with them.
Mississippi St - has turned into a solid program that is underrated but not as good as A&M.
Ole Miss - has their ups and downs, A&M is better at this point.
I think this is a good move for A&M because they stand to gain more money, which in turn can be used by their athletic department. They will also immediately compete in basketball and baseball. Let's not forget, A&M has one of the top overall athletic departments in the entire nation.
But if this is about football, forget about it. They are going to get killed. A&M has some great players on their team right now. But they have zero depth. That's the difference between them and the teams they will now compete against. As the season goes on, A&M's lack of depth will be exposed.
Now, can they cure this in recruiting? Some people think so, but I don't. I don't think this move will gain them any significant advantage in recruiting. It will hurt Texas in recruiting, but it will not help A&M. The only team in the SEC that really does any damage in the state is LSU. Not anymore. That whole western division is about to come crashing in.
As far as how they stack up right now, I would put it like this:
Alabama - One of the top 3 programs in the nation, maybe #1
LSU
Arkansas
Auburn
TEXAS A&M
Mississippi St - A program on the rise
Ole Miss
Over the long term, Alabama and LSU are clearly the class of the conference. And Ole Miss is probably in the cellar. Between them, you have four teams that will be about equal. From year to year one of them might have a great year or a down year, but over the long term, I would put them in that order.
So A&M at it's best, will probably only ever be the #3 team in the division, much less the conference.