If they want to be considered an SEC contender, they need to beat Rice today, despite losing at halftime, considering all the talent Gary has amassed via the transfer....
If by contender you mean a threat to South Carolina, that's a pipe dream made fathomable only if SC badly underachieves.
If you mean a threat for 2nd place, I don't think a loss here dooms the Aggies' season. The other so-called "contenders" in the SEC are largely overrated, and Lord knows the middle to bottom of the conference ranges from terribly mediocre to god-awful.
The quality of A&M's transfers is actually a mitigating factor in any struggles today. Predictably, they'll be a bit disjointed as Morris just barely came eligible less than 2 weeks ago and Green only today -- but their ceiling will be higher than other teams', and Blair is still one of the best coaching minds in the conference.
Personally I'd love to see Rice win one for the underdogs today, but once SEC play starts I'll be pulling hard for the team from College Station.