Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Football 2012: Week 13

The betting line on Missouri at Texas A&M: Aggies minus 21 points. Frankly, that surprises me.

The Aggies have beaten the team ranked number 1 in the nation two times. Kevin Sumlin was involved in both victories. The first was in 2002, when Sumlin was Slocum's offensive coordinator. The number one team was Oklahoma, and the winning Aggie quarterback was Reggie McNeal. The final score was 30-26. The Aggies followed that historic win with a home game against Mizzou, and lost 33-27. Ten years later, with Sumlin as head coach and Johnny Manziel at quarterback, the Aggies upset top-ranked Alabama 29-24. Next up is a home game against Mizzou, a team that has beaten A&M five out of the six times they've played since 2000, including the last three in a row. It seems like everyone except me believes a big Aggie win on Saturday is a foregone conclusion.

Added 9:50 PM, Thursday: TCU replaced the Aggies as the longhorn Thanksgiving game opponent, and tonight in Austin, they won 20-13. Unfortunately, I didn't see the game. Still, it makes my day whenever the fucking longhorns take a beating, especially when it crushes their fantasies about conference championships and BCS bowl games.

Added 11:50 PM Thursday: College Football News predicts the Aggies will beat Mizzou 34-23. 

Added 4:38 PM Saturday: A lot of significant games on TV today, some involving teams that A&M has played or might play before the season is finished. Michigan lost to Ohio State in a close (26-21) game, but I'm still hoping the Aggies are matched against UM in their bowl game. Oklahoma and Okie State are swapping TDs in a shootout, and Florida is currently leading Florida State 13-3. Tonight the Aggies play Mizzou, South Carolina is at Clemson, and Notre Dame plays USC, hoping to retain their number 1 ranking. I want to see the Irish against the Crimson Tide for the MNC. There are more TV games than I can squeeze in; I'd like to watch some of Ole Miss-Mississippi State, but probably won't get around to it.

Added 8:08 PM Saturday: The first 29 minutes of the first half were virtually perfect A&M football. The Aggies are ahead 42-7 at the break. Manziel went down in the first quarter with what looked like a potential knee injury; I got a sick feeling, but he came back in and looked okay.

Added 10:02 PM Saturday: Sumlin definitely doesn't try to run up the score against weaker opponents. As a result, Missouri won the second half by five points (22-17). Fortunately, the Aggies won the first half by five TOUCHDOWNS. The final score: 59-29. The Aggies won more decisively than I anticipated, and finished the regular season 10-2 -- at least four wins better than I predicted in August, when I thought 6-6 might be their best-case scenario. The SEC West wasn't as hairy as I expected, and the Aggies were vastly superior to what I imagined, particularly at quarterback. Was anyone predicting a redshirt freshman would potentially be spectacular enough to win the Heisman? Not me.

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