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Texas A&M Football: ESPN FPI adds pressure to Aggies’ 2020 season

By Matthew Bartlett

OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Texas A&M Aggies reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI - OCTOBER 19: Head coach Jimbo Fisher of the Texas A&M Aggies reacts during the second half against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on October 19, 2019 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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ESPN FPI gave high regard to Texas A&M football, adding to a pressure-packed season for head coach Jimbo Fisher and the Aggies.

2020 had always been the year penciled in as the breakthrough season for Texas A&M Football. At least, that was the date circulated when Jimbo Fisher was handed his National Championship Trophy on his arrival to College Station. It was widely understood that the Aggies’ new head man would need some time to assemble his roster. Now three years in with back-to-back Top 6 classes, the stars have seemingly aligned.

Texas A&M was ranked No. 8 nationally in ESPN’s Preseason FPI. ESPN defines the metric as “a predictive rating system designed to measure team strength and project performance going forward.” At this point, the entire 2020 season is “forward”, meaning if Texas A&M football is to live up to this lofty projection, they’ll have to finish as a Top 8 team in 2020. For reference, Alabama was the No. 8 team in the final 2019 AP Poll — they finished 11-2.

The Aggies haven’t won 11 games in a season since 2012 when Johnny Manziel worked his magic. Before that, you’d have to go back to 1998, the last time Texas A&M won a conference championship. 11 wins is right at the apex of what this program has accomplished in the modern era. That’s the bar set for Fisher and his 2020 squad.

An easier schedule will help make that dream a reality. Texas A&M will swap defending ACC Champion Clemson and defending SEC East Champion Georgia for Colorado and Vanderbilt. They’ll still have to get through the likes of LSU, Alabama and the rest of the rigors of the SEC West.

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The $75 Million man knew the expectations were going to be sky high when he took the job. By and large, his first two years at the helm have been passed over, accepted as building blocks toward an illustrious future. In a few short months, it’ll be time to play the games that could define Fisher’s (and the Aggies’) place in the pantheon of the College Football Playoff era. For Texas A&M football, the pressure is officially on.