With the first half of the Texas A&M football season already in the books, let’s take a look at five overreactions from the first seven weeks.
The first half of the season, plus a game, is in the books for Texas A&M football and the Aggies are sitting at 5-2 and on the brink of the AP Top 25. It’s hard to believe this is the same team that lost the season opener against UCLA after being up 44-10, but the Aggies seemed to have turned a corner, especially with more consistency at quarterback.
Just one win away from bowl eligibility and the toughest game on the schedule (Alabama) already out of the way, there’s a good chance this team will finish around the 8-9 win mark which would be enough to save Kevin Sumlin’s job.
About a month ago, no one thought that was possible after the Aggies struggled to beat teams like Nicholls State and UL-Lafayette, but it’s crazy how quickly things can change in college football. This Aggies are on the rise and this young team has top-tier potential.
Let’s take a look at some vast overreactions from the first half of the season, though.
5. Without UCLA meltdown, Aggies are top-10 worthy
Flash all the way back to the first game of the season. Texas A&M held a 44-10 lead over UCLA on the road and everyone was talking about how this Aggie team was the real deal. About 25 minutes later, the Aggies were on the wrong end of a 35-0 run and fell to the Bruins, 45-44. Josh Rosen made the defense look silly and put on a show for the home crowd.
If the Bruins never blew that lead, things might be different. Then you’re looking at a team with a nice road win over a top-tier Pac-12 team to start the season and confidence builds from there. The Aggies would have been 5-0 heading into the Alabama game probably with a ranking in the teens or maybe even top 10.
A close loss against the Crimson Tide may not have dropped them far, if at all, and the Aggies would have bounced back with a win at Florida. That would mean this team is 6-1, at worst. Could that be worthy of a spot in the top 10? Maybe.
In a day where “what ifs” are all the rage, it’d be interesting to see what would have happened if the Aggies held on to win that first game by a wide margin. We could be talking about a potential playoff team.