Texas A&M Football: Can Jimbo Fisher actually beat Alabama?

Texas A&M football coach Jimbo Fisher doesn’t lack confidence and with one of the best rosters in the country at his disposal heading into the 2021 season, he has a reason to be confident.

Just about every preseason poll has Texas A&M football ranked in the top 10 and after a 9-1 campaign that saw the Aggies win the Orange Bowl, it’s easy to see why especially with a ton of NFL talent returning.

Fisher is obviously feeling good about his football team because, in a leaked audio clip which was obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Fisher tells a group of Texas A&M fans he is speaking to that the Aggies are going to beat Nick Saban and Alabama, although he used more colorful language.

A fan asked Fisher what it would take to beat Alabama and if Saban essentially needed to leave for that to happen.

Fisher responded that they were going to beat Saban and Alabama. He also said he didn’t want Saban to leave or retire from coaching.

For context, Fisher hasn’t beaten Saban while the head coach for Texas A&M. The Aggies have actually lost eight in a row to Alabama, with the last win coming when Johnny Manziel was playing quarterback and led A&M to a memorable upset in Tuscaloosa.

Can Fisher deliver on his bold statement?

Last season, Alabama dominated Texas A&M, winning the game 52-24. However, that was in Alabama. This season, the meeting will be in College Station and both programs are going to be breaking in a new starting quarterback.

For Bama, that will be former five-star Bryce Young. For Texas A&M, it’s still an open question as Zach Calzada and Haynes King are battling for the job. They both had up-and-down spring games, throwing a touchdown and interception each.

But Fisher said after the spring game, the quarterback isn’t what he’s worried about.

"“Everybody’s worried about the quarterback. That’s the last thing I’m worried about. I’m not worried about the quarterback. I’m worried about the pieces around him.”"

Looking ahead to next season, it’s going to be hard for anyone to match Alabama’s talent level, however, a recent mock draft for 2022 by CBS had three Aggies going in the first round.

So Texas A&M football does have an abundance of talent. It has recruited extremely well under Fisher and if the Aggies are just fine at quarterback as Fisher says, then Texas A&M will have as good a shot as anyone of beating Alabama in 2021.