It's business as usual for A&M but this game has a chance to be special
Texas A&M has seldom been in the position it is right now since winning the Big 12 championship in 1998.
The Aggies will have the inside track on winning the Southeastern Conference’s Western Division if they beat 11th-ranked Alabama on Saturday. A&M (4-1, 2-0) would have a challenging path remaining with road games at 16th-ranked Ole Miss, 22nd-ranked Tennessee and 23rd-ranked LSU along with home games against South Carolina and Mississippi State, which are teams that beat the Aggies last year. But the Aggies’ confidence would be of championship caliber if it could beat Alabama, which has been the gold standard since A&M joined the league in 2012. The Aggies have beaten Alabama twice, but both times A&M were two-touchdown underdogs. Few expected A&M to win.
This time, the unranked Aggies are only 2.5-point underdogs. Never has the betting line been this close between the two.
Alabama opened as a three-point pick in 2015 when the visiting Crimson Tide was ranked 10th, a spot behind A&M. The line immediately went to 3.5. Alabama won 41-23 en route to a national championship, while the Aggies faded to 8-5.
It’s taken A&M eight years to get back in position get the best of Alabama. When A&M beat Alabama in 2012, that was part of a season-ending six-game winning streak capped by a 41-13 thumping of Oklahoma in the Cotton Bowl as Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel ran roughshod over the Sooners. Alabama topped that by repeating as national champions. Kyle Field was rocking two years ago as the unranked Aggies pulled off a 41-38 upset of top-ranked Alabama, but by season’s end the Aggies didn’t have enough scholarship players left to play in the Gator Bowl. Alabama rebounded to win the SEC championship over Georgia, though the Bulldogs won the rematch in the national championship game.
Alabama has never had to chase A&M in the SEC standings. Texas A&M hasn’t been able to put a dagger in Alabama’s championship plans. The Aggies have a chance Saturday to do that and make a statement, a pretty big one, considering they start only five seniors with most of the playmakers on both sides underclassmen.
“That’s something that we talk about with Coach [Jimbo] Fisher, is trying to set the basis and the standard for what the future of what Texas A&M football is going to be,” said A&M graduate tight end Max Wright, who along with wide receiver Ainias Smith, strong safety Demani Richardson and others all opted to return for another year. “Think about McKinnley Jackson, Ainias and all those guys who decided to take one more year and come back. This year means a lot to us and we want to do it right and go out the right way.”
They have that chance, but Alabama stands in the way. Fisher and the players often talk about nameless, faceless opponents and taking it one game at time with practice the focus. But that’s virtually impossible when you’re playing Alabama, which is 143-16 with four national championships since A&M has entered the league. The Crimson Tide has won at least 11 games every year and never lost more than two since 2012. A&M has won 10 games only once, while losing at least four games nine times while going 94-49.
Yet, A&M is a victory away from moving ahead of Alabama in the SEC’s pecking order. The Aggies are riding a dominating three-game winning streak, bouncing back impressively from a 48-33 loss at Miami.
“I think anytime you have success and you go through those things, you get confidence, because you know I can fight through that,” Fisher said. “I know I can fight through adversity. I know I can play against these types of people.”
A&M came within a play of beating Alabama last year, but the Crimson Tide held on for a 24-20 victory. That Aggie team was 5-7, the worst since 2008. A&M has a chance to put that season behind in a big way.
The fans have the fever, believing this could be the year. They can say and do all the wild things, while the team will try to focus on the job at hand, trying Alabama just like any other team in what’s arguably the biggest game in decades.
“Our players believe in themselves and that they’re doing and what we’re doing and hopefully, we’ll carry it [into] practice and into the game,” Fisher said.
Tennessee game will be at 2:30 p.m.: Texas A&M’s game at Tennessee on Oct. 14 will kick at 2:30 p.m. and be televised by CBS, which will have a doubleheader that day. Georgia at Vanderbilt will kick it off at 11 on CBS. It’ll be the second straight week the Aggies will be part of the featured 2:30 kick. They’ll play host to Alabama this Saturday at Kyle Field.
The other games for Oct. 14 are Florida at South Carolina, 2:30 p.m. SEC Network; Missouri at Kentucky, 6 or 6:30 p.m. ESPN or SEC Network; and Auburn at LSU, 6 or 6:30 p.m. ESPN or SEC Network.
Smith earns SEC honors: Smith was the SEC’s special teams player of the week after returning three punts for 131 yards in the 34-22 victory over Arkansas, including an 82-yard touchdown that put the game away. He added a team-high four receptions for 71 yards.
Ole Miss junior quarterback Jaxson Dart and Kentucky senior running back Ray Davis shared offensive player of the week.
Dart threw for 389 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in a 55-49 victory over LSU. He added 50 yards rushing on seven carries with a touchdown. Davis ran for 280 yards rushing on 26 carries with three touchdowns in a 33-14 victory over Florida. He also caught a 9-yard touchdown pass.
Georgia junior inside linebacker Smael Mondon was the defensive player of the week. He had 11 tackles, including a sack in a 27-20 victory over Auburn. Kentucky senior Jeremy Flax was the offensive lineman of the week. He graded at 87% with five knockdown blocks, allowing no sacks or pressures. Tennessee sophomore defensive end James Pearce Jr., was the defensive linemen of the week. He had three tackles, two of them sacks in a 41-20 victory over South Carolina. Alabama safety Caleb Downs and Georgia place-kicker Peyton Woodring shared freshman of the week. Downs had 13 tackles in a 40-17 victory over Mississippi State. Woodring had two field goals and three extra point kicks.
Robert Cessna’s email address is [email protected].
