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Longhornfrenzy

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Everything posted by Longhornfrenzy

  1. Billy Liucci Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 11:54:14) "Fog" is a good word. When the season ends in a loss, it sucks, but everything is magnified by a million. I heard one of you, David or Olin, say this is what Aggies were afraid of when Texas joined the SEC. That is a big part of the problem. As stupid as I think the little brother thing is, that is where it comes from. When I got to Texas A&M, they were routinely beating Texas. It was not far removed from Jackie Sherrill's time, who established that, and R.C. Slocum was obviously still here. I remember when A&M lost to Texas in 1995. I didn't realize A&M could lose to Texas. That is when it shifted. Dennis Franchione, ironically, beat them twice. Mike Sherman beat them once. There was a mindset that A&M wouldn't lose, and they were the tone-setter. That started to change with Mack Brown and Ricky Williams. This rivalry is always about physicality and going out and taking it. One team played for 60 minutes like they were the aggressor and took control of the lines of scrimmage. The Aggies were too late to that party. They got into the fistfight too late. A&M produced a couple of massive plays, but they couldn't get enough. Throughout the Aggies' time in the SEC without Texas, A&M would have really controlled and run the rivalry. People say the records aren't that different. A&M was far more physical and better on the lines of scrimmage. The draft picks told the tale. The Aggies had playmakers on offense under Kevin Sumlin. That is a period when you weren’t playing them. When I looked at Texas' players on the lines of scrimmage, they looked like all the other top-end SEC teams we have played over the years. They have not looked like that leading into the run-up to the SEC. The gap between Texas and Oklahoma was noticeably different. Oklahoma seemed to be getting smaller, while Texas was getting bigger and bigger. Texas has always had the skill players and athletes. Texas won the physical battle. You saw that on Saturday. A&M has to get back to winning the physical battle. Not just to beat Texas but to compete in the SEC. South Carolina got you on that front. The Aggies and LSU both need to address those issues. Auburn did not beat you physically. Georgia would have gotten you there. Tennessee would be problematic. The Aggies are a little light up the middle on defense. They don't have an anchor in there. The linebackers are undersized. Other teams saw that and went after it. If there was a lesson from the game this weekend, it’s that the more physical team would win. When Vince Young played the Aggies in Austin, the Aggies led at halftime. They fed the ball to Cedric Benson for the entire second half to beat A&M. A year later, Vince barely got by the Aggies. When A&M won 12-7 down there, it was because of the physicality on the lines of scrimmage. Texas could not convert on fourth-and-1. They flipped the script here on Saturday. That goal-line play at the end of the game on Saturday was indicative of the entire game. The more physical team won that play and the game. That is the painful lesson you go into the offseason with. I was demolished on social media this weekend. We all have to hear it, just like Texas fans would have had to hear it if A&M had won. You don't want to lose to them ever. You had a 13-year headstart and are at your place. The Aggies had a direct say in who went to the SEC Championship Game. It is year four under Steve Sarkisian and year one and game No. 12 under Mike Elko. There is a massive difference there. No one wants to hear that we are calling year one “progress.” I get why. You lost the last three SEC games, and the defense couldn't stop anybody. There are questions about the direction of the offense. They need to figure out why they can't get a yard when you need it. Why don't you kick those if you're not picking it up and not built to do it yet? I like Elko thinking that if his team can get a yard, he will try and get it. It is the Dan Campbell mentality to a degree. The short-yardage woes played a huge factor in the South Carolina and Texas losses. It will be interesting moving forward as Elko builds this program. It will be interesting to see if this game on Saturday is a sign of things to come or if we will look back and go, "Remember when they couldn't even get a yard?" You can't sit here and go through another year where this is costing you games. You better fix that part of it. Elko is not scared to lose to Texas. He would be the first to tell you we are trying to get out of that mindset around here. To do that, he knows he must have a team to get that yard. Do you kick it now and go for it later when you are more equipped, or do you try to get it now because you should? Turns out you weren't good enough to get it. One day, you better be good enough to do that. Segment 2 (11:54:15 - 13:05:16) I dont think there's anything untrue about the quote, "This season doesn't feel any different than the 1998 season and every other season in the last 10 years." You look at first-year coaches, and this is very similar to Jimbo Fisher's first season. The difference is that you beat LSU at the end but lost to Texas. This Texas team is much like the Clemson team you lost to earlier in the season. Couple of top-10 teams this season. This year felt different for a lot of it because of that start. It left a sour taste, not just the Texas game but losing those last three. I was corrected on the site, and if they had beaten Auburn, they would've been in Atlanta. In hindsight, that one hurts me more than any of them. Segment 4 (15:42:22 - 25:08:29) Everything about this season has been tough to analyze and break down, even as the Aggies were winning to get 7-1. You knew Notre Dame would have staying power. You couldn't feel great about it because you should have won that game. You were so concerned with the way Conner Weigman played. You beat the brakes off Missouri, but they had been untested. Missouri turned out to be alright. They weren't one of the best teams in the country, but you still beat a top-10 team at home and looked really good in doing it. Even then, you looked at the end of the schedule and would not have been OK with 0-3. Hell no. I wanted to see A&M go 2-1 in those last three. Had they done that in any fashion, they would be in Atlanta. Individually, you knew each of those games would be difficult. You knew that the Aggies weren't that much better than Arkansas. You knew Missouri was not elite. You knew the game against LSU had much to do with the quarterback change. LSU leaned into too many excuses. The Aggie defense was dominant. Le’Veon Moss and Amari Daniels imposed their will against that defense. LSU was trying to excuse it because of the quarterback change, but there were other issues that led to the Tigers losing that game. Watching this season up until South Carolina, you knew A&M was still a part of a pack of teams. They had continued to figure out ways to win. They had shown so much toughness and grit. They were embracing the grind of these football games. They were figuring out ways to win. That impressed me in the first year of a new head coach. They weren't taking the field with an overwhelming talent edge against these teams. Just like Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee, they could not survive an off Saturday. You knew that off Saturday was about to come. The off Saturday came at South Carolina. There are a million ways that the Auburn game goes. I'll cling to the fact that you can't start down 21-0 on the road. The Aggies ran into a better team against Texas. We said all week that they would have to play mistake-free football and take advantage of their chances. They did not do that soon enough. I see why people are torn about how this season went. The Aggies were 7-1 and 5-0 in the SEC, but they finished 0-3 in conference play. You can look at it through the lens of a missed opportunity. The football gods kept handing the Aggies opportunities, but they were not easy opportunities. Alabama and Ole Miss losing handed you another chance against Texas to get to Atlanta. You created your opportunities within the Texas game alone. They forced a fumble against Quinn Ewers, tipped a pass that caused a pick-six and blocked a punt. They created those opportunities, but they could not capitalize. 8-4 records can look different. It would look and feel different if you had started 0-3 in the SEC, won five in a row and beat Texas. People come here and say we are too worried about Texas. My ass. If you work or compete here and don't have a burning desire to beat anything in burnt orange, then maybe this isn't the place for you. That is your arch-rival. It is like Michigan-Ohio State and Alabama-Auburn. You can understand that and still understand that they are not the end-all-be-all of the season. Texas has an elite athletic department. They are back to being a top-five football program. You will always have to earn it against them. The game against them is bigger than just one game. Had the Aggies beaten Auburn, you are playing Texas again for the SEC Championship. Everyone would be excited and looking for revenge. It would be a million times more fun than where we are, but every question about next year and this program would still be here. They would not have all gone away because of one play against Auburn. The way the season is viewed and felt would be completely different. It does not change what the Aggies can or can't accomplish in 2025 or under Elko. It could have changed if the Aggies had beaten Texas in Atlanta. Segment 5 (25:08:30 - 27:42:28) A&M had key injuries, particularly in the backfield. They were pretty healthy otherwise. The injury to Moss changed a lot. Everyone is talking about Collin Klein, and I wouldn't say I liked the fourth-down play. I saw so much creativity throughout the season from him. Also, you look at how Moss could get that yard. They were finding ways to score and get yards through the season. You forced them. If you could have avoided the mistakes and made one or two more plays, that game at least is very interesting, and you let the 12th Man become a factor. Segment 6 (27:42:29 - 34:56:27) Signing day is getting interesting quickly. We could have some interesting news today. This class is starting to look good. The finish of the 2025 class could shock some folks around the SEC and the country. The 2026 class we know is off to a sensational start. I am personally most excited about the transfer portal, which opens on Dec. 9. I think this is where cElko will thrive. I will be honest about which losses you should be worried about and which you shouldn't. That won't be 100 percent accurate, but it will be close. I will tell you when keeping someone is a big deal. I would have said that about Daniels last year. That dude did everything he could. Without him, I don't know what we would have done in the running game. The running game was OK against South Carolina and pretty good against Auburn. There are guys that you get in the portal, like Cashius Howell and Ar’maj Reed-Adams, that you don't throw a party for, but they end up being good contributors. Tre Watson and BJ Mayes are examples. There will be a lot of those. Last year, Elko and the part of his staff that was here by that point had less than a month to work with the portal. They had very little chance there but still did an excellent job. This time around, they have been here the whole time. This time around is when we see some pretty damn exciting additions. Last year, the only transfers who moved the needle were Nic Scourton, Dezz Ricks and Will Lee III to some degree. Scourton was the Big Ten sacks leader, and Ricks is a former five-star. You will see a lot more of that this year. That is what I am most excited about. I am also excited to see which guys pass up the NFL. I don't mean guys who could go early. I mean those who will go in the third or later rounds. Come back for your senior year. Edgerrin Cooper, Jake Matthews, Cedric Ogbuehi and Germain Ifedi all did that and benefitted. There will likely be several Aggie players that the staff would want back that will be in that boat. They will have a tough decision. It would be wise for some of them to come back. We will see if Elko and NIL can convince them of that. To me, this is a fun time. It is not fun not to be playing this weekend, and it is not fun to have gone through these last three SEC games. This is a lot of fun because it shapes our excitement level going into next season, and we will spend much of the offseason talking about it.
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