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College baseball polls are just as wacky as those used in the election primaries. Judging from the weekly tabulations, Texas A&M should feel equally great and miserable.

According to the USA Today/ESPN coaches poll, the Aggies are the eighth-best team in the nation. Not so fast, says Baseball America . That poll didn't even rank A&M in the top 25 last week. This week, the Aggies debuted at No. 19.

None of the polls matter. Here's all Big 12 baseball fans need to know: Texas A&M (30-7, 12-3 Big 12) has romped and stomped its way to first place heading into a three-game series against Baylor (23-14, 8-7).

"You could be ranked No. 1 all year, and if you don't finish in Omaha as the last team standing, then it doesn't it matter," A&M coach Rob Childress said.

A&M swept Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma over the last three weeks. OU coach Sunny Golloway certainly came away impressed. "That's a top-10 team, no doubt about it," he said.

If pollsters dissected the Aggies' lineup, it becomes easy to see how they're doing so well.

Dane Carter was a junior-college transfer who spent most of last season adjusting to Division I play. The senior is now smashing the ball everywhere, hitting a conference-best .432 with eight triples. Jose Duran had no problems with the jump. Childress planted the junior transfer in the cleanup spot, where Duran is hitting .382.

FILE PHOTO 2007

Blake Stouffer, A&M's best hitter last season, is coming around after a slow start, upping his average 74 points since March 5.

Veteran Blake Stouffer, A&M's best hitter last season, is also coming around after a slow start. Stouffer was hitting .188 on March 5. Now, he's batting .262.

A&M's pitching staff was expected to be strong. But two freshmen really stand out. Left-hander Brooks Raley from Uvalde, Texas, is 5-0 with six starts this season. Right-hander Barret Loux from Houston is 2-1 in eight starts.

Kyle Thebeau (1.19 ERA, 15 appearances) and Travis Starling (5-0, 17 appearances) are still a dangerous 1-2 combo late in games, just like last season.

The Aggies' toughest games are still to come. A&M has yet to face Missouri, Nebraska or Texas. If Childress' crew holds tough down the stretch, A&M should be set up perfectly for a top eight national seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The aftermath of 31-12: Watch Texas (23-13, 8-7) this weekend against Oklahoma State (24-11, 8-7) to see if there's any lingering hangover from a disastrous trip to Missouri. The Longhorns lost the opener by a whopping 31-12 and then lost the series. If that wasn't bad enough, UT-Arlington registered a 4-3 victory in Austin on Wednesday.

"The team has a high-end potential and we're not playing to that level," UT coach Augie Garrido said. "Sometimes teams with potential have a tendency to admire themselves in the mirror rather than search their heart and soul for answers."