Maybe this should be called Weak One. The new season for Texas A&M begins on a Thursday night in August against Northwestern State (SEC Network, 7:30 PM). Since joining the SEC in 2012, the Aggies have usually opened their season with a relatively tough game (Florida in 2012, South Carolina in 2014, Arizona State in 2015, and UCLA in 2016-17). In 2014-2016, wins against respected opponents made me believe A&M was much better than they eventually turned out to be. Last year's astonishing second-half collapse at UCLA was a clear omen the season would probably stink, and it did.
Although there's a sparkling new (highly-paid) coaching staff, the team is still mostly players who were mucking around last year. The schedule adds Clemson to the usual rugged SEC West cast of villains, which suggests a regular season record in the 7-5 neighborhood is a realistic expectation, with 8-4 a reason for riotous celebration. If we assume losses against Clemson, Alabama and Auburn, can A&M win four out of five against Mississippi State, Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss and LSU? We'll find out.
In the first week of a new season, there are usually a limited number of games worth watching on the tube. The SEC games that might be interesting:
Update 11:17 PM Thursday: Texas A&M looked more like an SEC team tonight against the Demons than they did in six seasons with Kevin Sumlin in charge of things. Yeah, it was only Northwestern State, but A&M played well on offense, defense, and in the kicking game. During the post-Manziel years, A&M under Sumlin had a tendency to get sloppy in games like this, resulting in unimpressive wins that were closer than they needed to be.
Although there's a sparkling new (highly-paid) coaching staff, the team is still mostly players who were mucking around last year. The schedule adds Clemson to the usual rugged SEC West cast of villains, which suggests a regular season record in the 7-5 neighborhood is a realistic expectation, with 8-4 a reason for riotous celebration. If we assume losses against Clemson, Alabama and Auburn, can A&M win four out of five against Mississippi State, Arkansas, South Carolina, Ole Miss and LSU? We'll find out.
In the first week of a new season, there are usually a limited number of games worth watching on the tube. The SEC games that might be interesting:
- Northwestern State at Texas A&M (no line): College Football News forecasts a 58-6 rout at Kyle Field tomorrow night. Update: Predicted score was very close, with Aggies winning 59-7.
- Texas Tech favored by 2.5 points vs Ole Miss (Saturday at 11:00 on ESPN): CFN predicts the Red Raiders will win a 45-40 shootout. May watch for Ole Miss scouting purposes only. Update: Didn't watch much of it, but Ole Miss laid a 20-point beating on TexTech, winning 47-27.
- Auburn favored by 2.5 points vs Washington (Saturday at 2:30 on ABC): CFN sees the Huskies pulling a 26-24 minor upset. Update: Auburn held off the upset in a 21-16 win.
- West Virginia favored by 9.5 points vs Tennessee (Saturday at 2:30 on CBS): CFN says West Virginia covers the spread 34-24. Update: Not even close, with West Virginia cruising 40-14.
- Alabama favored by 25 vs Louisville (Saturday at 7:00 PM on ABC): CFN believes Tide will roll in a 38-10 stomping. Update: Alabama won easily, 51-14.
- Miami favored by 3 points vs LSU (Sunday at 6:30 on ABC): CFN predicts LSU will open their season with a 26-23 upset win. Update: I heard rumors that LSU could be in rebuilding mode this year, but they looked pretty tough tonight, leading by thirty points before giving up two 4th quarter TDs and winning 33-17.
Update 11:17 PM Thursday: Texas A&M looked more like an SEC team tonight against the Demons than they did in six seasons with Kevin Sumlin in charge of things. Yeah, it was only Northwestern State, but A&M played well on offense, defense, and in the kicking game. During the post-Manziel years, A&M under Sumlin had a tendency to get sloppy in games like this, resulting in unimpressive wins that were closer than they needed to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment