Last summer, when the season was still a few weeks away, my outlook on Texas A&M football in 2018 was a mixture of general indifference with a small portion of curiosity. The last four years of Sumlin football was the sort of grind that turned my enthusiasm to dust, but Jimbo Fisher's arrival generated enough feverish conversation that I decided to peek at the Clemson game in case anything good happened.
As things worked out, the Aggies played well enough in a loss that could easily have been a win that my excitement level clicked up several notches. Their game against Alabama was the expected loss, but wasn't the type of ass-whipping that would've led me to throw in the towel. Then the Aggies produced consecutive hard-fought wins against three fairly respectable SEC opponents, and I realized the old habit was forming again. If the Aggies had gone to Mississippi State after their open week and kicked the shit out of the Bulldogs, maybe 27-10 or something like that, I would've been hooked, for better or worse.
Instead, Jimbo's team laid the kind of turd at MSU that Kevin's teams laid routinely starting in 2014, and I got the needed wake-up call.
Tomorrow, Texas A&M (5-3) is at Auburn (5-3) in an 11:00 AM game on ESPN. The Aggies are underdogs on the road (4 points), and College Football News predicts Auburn will be the better team at quarterback and defensive line. The final score should be 23-16, leaving Jimbo and his team a mediocre 5-4 with a probable loss to LSU still ahead.
If the Aggies regroup at Auburn with efficiency and effectiveness comparable to that shown against Clemson, Kentucky, and South Carolina, they might create enough late momentum to salvage a season that's coming apart. I haven't seen anything like that for several years now. Since it's an 11:00 game, I'll probably watch until Auburn gets ahead by more than ten points.
Update 12:30 Saturday: Texas A&M is up 17-14 at the half. The game has followed the pattern set against Kentucky and South Carolina: The Aggies are playing well enough to stay slightly behind or slightly ahead, but not well enough to establish a comfortable lead. I hate games like this.
Update 3:28 PM Saturday:
"Put that coffee down. Coffee's for closers only."
(Alec Baldwin to Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross)
The Aggies played well in the third quarter and added a touchdown to expand their lead to 24-14. But they aren't closers. Midway through the 4th quarter, Kellen Mond tossed a pass that looked like he wanted it to be intercepted. Auburn quickly turned that gift into a TD to cut the lead to 24-21, and the collapse was underway.
Mond showed some promise early in the season but he's regressing now, and his turnovers resulted in 14 easy points for Auburn in their 28-24 win. Add another miss by Small on a short FG attempt, plus a defense that was nowhere to be found on Auburn's final scoring drive, and the decision has been posted: No coffee for these guys. Coffee's for closers only.
This is shaping up to be a 6-6 team, and I'm through messin' around with 'em. Really cannot understand why this bunch was ranked in the Top 25 last week.
The next opponent on the schedule, Ole Miss, hosts South Carolina in the 11:00 AM game on the SEC Network. This is a pick-'em game, and CFN expects Ole Miss to win a 38-34 shootout. I'm for the Gamecocks. Update: It was a shootout, but South Carolina won it, 48-44.
In the SEC showcase game at 2:30 PM on CBS, Georgia (7-1) visits Kentucky (7-1) as a road favorite. An upset win by Kentucky here would make A&M's win over the Wildcats look a little more impressive, but CFN forecasts a 23-14 victory for Georgia. Update: The Bulldogs handled Kentucky by doubling up, 34-17.
The biggest SEC game of the day should be Alabama (8-0) at LSU (7-1) at 7:00 PM on CBS. Bama has that usual unbeatable look and is a two-touchdown favorite. Can LSU shock the nation with an upset win? CFN says they can't, and will lose 31-16 instead. Update: No surprise here. Alabama keeps rolling 29-0.
As things worked out, the Aggies played well enough in a loss that could easily have been a win that my excitement level clicked up several notches. Their game against Alabama was the expected loss, but wasn't the type of ass-whipping that would've led me to throw in the towel. Then the Aggies produced consecutive hard-fought wins against three fairly respectable SEC opponents, and I realized the old habit was forming again. If the Aggies had gone to Mississippi State after their open week and kicked the shit out of the Bulldogs, maybe 27-10 or something like that, I would've been hooked, for better or worse.
Instead, Jimbo's team laid the kind of turd at MSU that Kevin's teams laid routinely starting in 2014, and I got the needed wake-up call.
Tomorrow, Texas A&M (5-3) is at Auburn (5-3) in an 11:00 AM game on ESPN. The Aggies are underdogs on the road (4 points), and College Football News predicts Auburn will be the better team at quarterback and defensive line. The final score should be 23-16, leaving Jimbo and his team a mediocre 5-4 with a probable loss to LSU still ahead.
If the Aggies regroup at Auburn with efficiency and effectiveness comparable to that shown against Clemson, Kentucky, and South Carolina, they might create enough late momentum to salvage a season that's coming apart. I haven't seen anything like that for several years now. Since it's an 11:00 game, I'll probably watch until Auburn gets ahead by more than ten points.
Update 12:30 Saturday: Texas A&M is up 17-14 at the half. The game has followed the pattern set against Kentucky and South Carolina: The Aggies are playing well enough to stay slightly behind or slightly ahead, but not well enough to establish a comfortable lead. I hate games like this.
Update 3:28 PM Saturday:
"Put that coffee down. Coffee's for closers only."
(Alec Baldwin to Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross)
The Aggies played well in the third quarter and added a touchdown to expand their lead to 24-14. But they aren't closers. Midway through the 4th quarter, Kellen Mond tossed a pass that looked like he wanted it to be intercepted. Auburn quickly turned that gift into a TD to cut the lead to 24-21, and the collapse was underway.
Mond showed some promise early in the season but he's regressing now, and his turnovers resulted in 14 easy points for Auburn in their 28-24 win. Add another miss by Small on a short FG attempt, plus a defense that was nowhere to be found on Auburn's final scoring drive, and the decision has been posted: No coffee for these guys. Coffee's for closers only.
This is shaping up to be a 6-6 team, and I'm through messin' around with 'em. Really cannot understand why this bunch was ranked in the Top 25 last week.
The next opponent on the schedule, Ole Miss, hosts South Carolina in the 11:00 AM game on the SEC Network. This is a pick-'em game, and CFN expects Ole Miss to win a 38-34 shootout. I'm for the Gamecocks. Update: It was a shootout, but South Carolina won it, 48-44.
In the SEC showcase game at 2:30 PM on CBS, Georgia (7-1) visits Kentucky (7-1) as a road favorite. An upset win by Kentucky here would make A&M's win over the Wildcats look a little more impressive, but CFN forecasts a 23-14 victory for Georgia. Update: The Bulldogs handled Kentucky by doubling up, 34-17.
The biggest SEC game of the day should be Alabama (8-0) at LSU (7-1) at 7:00 PM on CBS. Bama has that usual unbeatable look and is a two-touchdown favorite. Can LSU shock the nation with an upset win? CFN says they can't, and will lose 31-16 instead. Update: No surprise here. Alabama keeps rolling 29-0.
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