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Wasson: Don’t fret, Aggie Nation, winning ugly will eventually pay off
By David Wasson
Published:
You can almost hear the hue and cry from College Station.
“What about Texas A&M? Where is the respect for the Aggies?”
Winning 6 games in a row, including vanquishing a top-10 team in the conference, should in theory earn more love than the No. 14 national ranking and only peripheral discussion about qualifying for the expanded College Football Playoff.
But that’s where we are with Texas A&M.
Why?
There are a couple answers here to consider, none of which likely will satisfy the 12th Man all that much. First, let’s examine the path the Aggies have taken to get to this juncture of the 2024 season.
An opening home loss against then-No. 7 Notre Dame certainly is in no way disqualifying, in that the Irish themselves only own a fluke loss to Northern Illinois and have dealt blowouts to Purdue and Stanford, and beat a then-ranked Louisville. Notre Dame is good, and losing as the No. 20 team to the No. 7 team is nothing to hide from.
What the Aggies have done since that Sept. 1 loss, on the other hand, could be holding them back. Outlasting Bowling Green 26-20 at home on Sept. 21 and escaping 21-17 against Arkansas in Dallas on Sept. 28 meant checking the win column, but they aren’t exactly sexy Ws.
And yes, Texas A&M blew out No. 9 Missouri 41-10, but then the Aggies backed it up by nearly backing up altogether – needing to play all 4 quarters in a 34-24 win at lowly Mississippi State.
It has been well established that winning in the SEC isn’t easy, no matter whom you play and where. But ideally, a Playoff team should possess the bona fides to do more than escape the likes of Arkansas and Mississippi State. Those should be blowouts.
Nevertheless, they are Ws – and Texas A&M has stacked up 6 of them in a row since faltering at the Notre Dame altar. So where is the love and a top-10 ranking? There are 7 teams with a loss ranked ahead of the Aggies – including the Irish (which, again, lost to Northern Illinois …) – so why isn’t Texas A&M a bigger deal right now?
It probably doesn’t help that the Aggies aren’t exactly sexy on offense, with quarterback Conner Weigman missing a couple games due to a shoulder injury and throwing for just 718 yards with 3 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Same with running back Le’Veon Moss, who has been solid en route to 674 rushing yards and 8 TDs leading a unit that ranks 13th in the country in rushing yards.
Similarly, the Aggies are above average – but not great – on defense. They rank 31st nationally in total defense and tied for 19th in scoring defense. Their best tackler, linebacker Taurean York, is tied for 229th nationally.
In other words, not much stands out for Texas A&M.
Being on the wrong end of the top 10 won’t be a problem if Texas A&M keep winning, starting this week when No. 8 LSU rolls into College Station. The Tigers are in many ways similar to the Aggies, in that they also lost in Week 1 (to then-No. 23 USC, 27-20) and have since reeled off 6 straight wins. But as style points go, LSU has done just a smidge more with its streak (besting No. 9 Ole Miss and blowing out Arkansas).
Get past LSU and Texas A&M has a trio of lightweights (at South Carolina, home vs. New Mexico State and at Auburn) before a potentially season-ending clash at Kyle Field with No. 5 Texas. And as we saw Saturday down the road a piece in Austin, the Longhorns can be had – and getting them with 102,000-plus cadets and crazies following the lead of the decidedly odd Yell Leaders is quite the home-field advantage.
In other words, Aggie Nation, be patient. Yes, you’re rooting on the 14th-ranked team in the country right now. But every goal is still very much in reach for Texas A&M should they keep doing what they’re doing right now. Winning by survival is a part of the deal in this conference, after all.
Maybe it’s been occasionally ugly and lacking in high-flying style points, but surviving a regular-season SEC gamut – whether it is a brutal schedule like Florida’s or a relatively mundane one like Texas A&M – will eventually pay dividends.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
