Texas A&M Football: 3 Reasons Gator Bowl is a must-watch
3. Proof Texas A&M is different under Jimbo Fisher
Kevin Sumlin was fired because he went 8-5 again, and again and again. The former Texas A&M head coach produced an 11-2 season in 2012, his first year at the helm, with Johnny Manziel as his quarterback but failed to crack the double-digit mark again in College Station. 9-4 in 2013 was the closest he got following year one, but that too had the benefit of arguably the best player in school history.
Texas A&M finished in second place in the SEC West this season, a first for a program seeking to become a player in the national stage. Outside of the strange season which marked Fisher’s exit at Florida State, the Aggies’ new head coach has never finished with less than nine wins in a season. Both Texas A&M and Fisher hope his streak of consecutive nine-win years in complete seasons continues in 2018.
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Fisher doesn’t have Manziel on his roster, but he does have the opportunity to avoid going 8-5. Although the results of this game won’t have much bearing on the long-term futures of either program the optics of a ninth win would be tremendous for a fanbase that expects more than what the old guard was able to produce.