Texas A&M Recruiting 2025: The Land of Melk & No Money

[Redneck Mutha 8007]

Who needs Longstreet when you've got Wiggy Weigman, Real Deal Marcel Reed, and <insert name of freshman who threw for an amazing 50 yards against NM St>!?!!!

[texifornia 57047]

38 minutes ago, Redneck Mutha said:

Who needs Longstreet when you've got Wiggy Weigman, Real Deal Marcel Reed, and <insert name of freshman who threw for an amazing 50 yards against NM St>!?!!!

That would be the pride of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Miles O'Neill: https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/miles-o-neill/14142

[SydneyCarton 48147]

5 minutes ago, texifornia said:

That would be the pride of Marblehead, Massachusetts, Miles O'Neill: https://12thman.com/sports/football/roster/miles-o-neill/14142

Not sure why Crispin Glover's kid wanted to juice up and play football.

 

 

[Plorant 808]

4 minutes ago, SydneyCarton said:

Not sure why Crispin Glover's kid wanted to juice up and play football.

 

 

[South Austin 52549]

[hookemATL 11825]

On 11/18/2024 at 3:21 PM, hookemATL said:

Cam Coleman will do nasty things to the team he was briefly committed to. Thorne should throw balls to him, hand the ball off to Hunter, and just not self implode. I really think aggy is overlooking this game. 

[Longhornfrenzy 5804]

 

Ph

 

 

By Billy Liucci

 

 

After falling behind 21-0 at Jordan-Hare, coming all the way back to take a 31-28 lead only to fail to put Auburn away and eventually lose it in overtime, the Aggies had finally run out of chances.

A season that sure felt like it would be a rebuilding experience in year one under first-year head coach Mike Elko following a game one loss to Notre Dame saw this A&M team show steady in-season improvement.

Despite uncertainty at quarterback, the Aggies found themselves alone in first place in the mighty Southeastern Conference after racing out to a 5-0 start. Seven straight wins, including taking down a pair of top-10 opponents at Kyle Field.

After disposing of Missouri and LSU in rousing fashion, all that stood between Texas A&M and the ultimate showdown with the Texas Longhorns were a couple of dangerous but certainly winnable SEC road dates.

Then the Aggies traveled to Columbia and ran into what turned out to be (and still is) a white-hot South Carolina team. A&M laid an egg as the Gamecocks pulled away during a dominant 24-0 second half.

As it turns out, all that cost the Ags was their short-lived top-10 ranking. Why? Because 2024 is the wildest season of conference play in SEC history.

Following a bye and a tuneup against New Mexico State, all that stood between the Maroon & White and a win-and-in, lose and you're out season finale with Texas was a trip to The Plains to take on a 4-6 Auburn squad. The Tigers entered last night's game just 1-5 in league play, and the folks at Auburn were hoping to roll Hugh Freeze out of town more than they were expecting to roll Toomer's Corner.

 

Based on 10 games worth of evidence, the Aggies were clearly the better team heading into last night's contest. But what Elko, me, you, the college football media, Nick Saban and Vegas (what was always a very fishy line moved all the way down to A&M minus-1 at one point) all knew was that this one was more than a simple “trap” game.

No, the Tigers had clearly been playing much better ball of late, and as Saban put it, Jordan-Hare Stadium is “haunted.” After watching A&M's last two trips there, I'd certainly agree with the GOAT that the home of War Eagle is a house of horrors, especially at night.

Combine that with the fact that, like Shane Beamer at South Carolina, Freeze fields a team that can match up on generally even footing with the Aggies in terms of raw talent, and that's especially true on defense and at the skill spots.

Long story short, Elko and everyone knew the Ags' margin for error was razor-thin on The Plains.

Anything less than A&M's best was sure to put the stakes of what would otherwise be the most anticipated regular-season game in Aggie history in jeopardy.

The Tigers entered the final two games of the regular season looking for bowl eligibility and to play spoiler. With dates against No. 15 Texas A&M and then the Iron Bowl on deck, everyone in orange and blue entered Saturday believing something special was in the air, so the Ags were clearly on high alert entering the 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

However...somehow, someway...Elko's bunch wasn't ready to answer the bell.

Like in Columbia, the Aggies got hit in the mouth early and needed a standing eight count before responding. Down 14-0 at South Carolina after just two possessions, the Ags dug themselves an even deeper hole last night, falling behind 21-0 just two minutes into the second quarter. And though the Ags showed incredible fight, toughness and heart in climbing back into the game and eventually taking the lead before falling in four overtimes, falling behind by three touchdowns set the stage for disaster in the very early going.

Even so, everyone on the team flight home was likely rehashing the number of missed opportunities down the stretch, any of which could have changed the 43-41 outcome had the Ags capitalized.

Promising first-quarter drives that ended in a missed field goal and a red zone interception.

 

A shanked Auburn punt that set the Ags up past midfield just before halftime.

Failing to turn a 15-yard field into seven early in the fourth.

A dropped snap on first-and-10 while trying to execute the four-minute offense and go home a winner and a couple of disastrous drops, one that could have gone a long way towards ending the game in regulation and another that would have extended it to a fifth OT.

Another overtime error came via a very costly holding call, which turned a second-and-2 17 yards away from a walk-off win into a first-and-20 from the 35-yard line.

And, of course, there was Auburn's game-tying, last-second score, a 15-play march that saw Payton Thorne lead the Tigers 75 yards thanks in large part to a 25-yard scramble on fourth-and-2.

Change any of those outcomes, and the Aggies win despite falling behind 21-0 on the road.

By roaring back against the Tigers, the Ags would have set Saturday night in the SEC ablaze while setting the stage for an epic rivalry renewal at Kyle Field. But the Aggies ran out of chances and dropped a second straight SEC contest in a bitterly disappointing fashion.

Elko and his team knew winning at Auburn was a must if they wanted to keep their SEC title and playoff hopes alive.

Or so we thought.

As it turns out, the Aggies have not run out of chances, thanks to the fact that virtually the entire league — including the contenders — have suffered through nights like the ones A&M did in Columbia and at Auburn, including two other chaos-inducing upsets on the penultimate Saturday of what's been an absolutely bonkers regular-season. Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin and Jaxson Dart were left in tears at The Swamp by none other than DJ Lagway and the coach not-so-affectionately known as “Sun Belt Billy.” At the same time, the Tide (led by another former Aggie QB target, Jalen Milroe) got rolled in an embarrassing manner yet again, this time by Oklahoma.

While the Ags fell victim to one for the second time in as many road games, the fact that both Alabama and Ole Miss had to flee jubilant mobs in Norman and Gainesville opened the door for one last chance in a wild 2024 season.

In those two games, the top-10 and seemingly playoff-bound teams were favored by a combined 25.5 points on the road.

Unfortunately for the Rebels and Tide, the road is where playoff dreams have repeatedly died in the SEC this fall.

Don't get it twisted. Playing on the road (especially at night) has always been a different animal than in other Power 4 leagues. This year? Well, it's never been wilder, as Greg Sankey has seemingly had to levy a field-storming fine each and every weekend. While the Ags fell victim to one for the second time in as many road games, the fact that both Alabama and Ole Miss had to flee jubilant mobs in Norman and Gainesville opened the door for one last chance in a wild 2024 season.

The unexpected dominoes falling means that — even after Saturday's 4OT setback — Elko's Aggies still have a clear shot to Atlanta.

For the first time since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012, A&M will take the field in the season-finale knowing “win and you're in” and on to Atlanta.

It's also the first time the Ags have played in such a game since 1998 (well, technically, the Ags had already clinched that year before falling to Texas in Austin on Ricky Williams' record-setting day).

The fact that said game will come vs. the Longhorns is more than enough to make Saturday's showdown special. Combine that with the fact that the bitter Lone Star rivals haven't squared off in 13 long years and that the winner advances to the SEC title game and the loser is out — and in A&M's case, out of the playoff picture — and you have what is arguably the most meaningful and high-profile contest in the storied history of Kyle Field, the Aggie-Longhorn rivalry and perhaps even ever for the Maroon & White.

Do the Aggies deserve such a shot after dropping the ball vs. an Auburn team whose only SEC win prior to last night was Kentucky?

While it may not feel like it on the day after, of course, they do.

Look, the reality is that — in year one under a new head coach — this A&M team has plenty of weaknesses and flaws. They're far from elite and can beat or lose to anyone on the conference schedule on a given Saturday.

 

Guess what? The same can be said about pretty much everyone in the now-16-team league.

In a way, Elko's first year came at a very opportune time for Texas A&M football. The Aggies have cashed in on that opportunity enough to be one of just three teams left standing as we enter Thanksgiving weekend. While a win against Arkansas doesn't seem like much, Tennessee would beg to differ. Ole Miss and LSU would say the same about winning at The Swamp. Mizzou is still trending to finish 9-3, and the Ags trounced an LSU team that managed to knock off the Rebels.

While everyone in the conference has stepped on a landmine or three since SEC play began, the Ags looked up this morning and realized the only teams still somewhat intact are Georgia (Kirby Smart's Bulldogs have already clinched a spot in the Dec. 7 title game), Texas and Texas A&M.

That's it.

The Auburn loss has just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and understandably so, but all the defeat really means in terms of the Ags' championship hopes is that any playoff hopes now end with a single L. Because of yesterday's rash of upsets around college football, a win over Auburn probably would have ensured that a 10-3 A&M team that lost in Atlanta would have made it past the selection committee and into the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. However, because of last night's result at Jordan-Hare, the Aggies are going to have to hoist a conference title trophy for the first time since my first year on the A&M beat ('98) to pull off the improbable in year one under Elko.

If anyone tries to tell you that the Aggies backed their way into their current position, kindly remind them there will be no backing into Atlanta or the CFP.

No, to get there, A&M will have to knock off No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Georgia in the Dawgs' home away from home. The Ags will be heavy underdogs in both contests, but this is the year of the upset in the SEC, is it not? A&M beating Texas at Kyle Field in front of 108,000 strong might not qualify in this year's top-10 when listing stunning SEC outcomes. And for as good as Georgia has been under Smart, his current team has looked pretty vulnerable in losses to Alabama and Ole Miss and even in wins against the likes of Kentucky and Florida.

 

Of course, the issue Elko and his staff are scrapping through as we enter Lone Star Showdown week is that the Aggies have been pretty vulnerable themselves in recent weeks. While losing Le'Veon Moss has really hurt, and Marcel Reed is still very much learning on the job (never optimal in the SEC if you're expecting week-to-week excellence or even consistency), the reality is that the Aggies are at least finding ways to move the ball and have averaged 32.6 points per game in SEC play, putting up 31 in regulation last night despite a slow start. A few weeks ago, a middle-of-the-pack offense bolstered by Moss and Reed's leadership and raw playmaking ability sure felt like it could be enough, thanks mainly to what was considered a high-end SEC defense led by what looked like arguably the league's best front four. However, in the last eight quarters of SEC play, the wheels have come off of the A&M defense in stunning fashion. Missed tackles, wide-open receivers, gaping holes in the run game and the inability to get to the quarterback were a regular occurrence Saturday and at South Carolina, and the result was the Tigers and Gamecocks putting up a combined 75 points (in regulation) and 999 total yards. It is not the time of year you want to see what had been the clear strength of your team spring significant leaks...even more so when your other strength, running the football, took such a monumental hit when Moss went down at South Carolina.

But if there's anything this season — in College Station and around the SEC — has taught us so far, it's that the Aggies, like most in the conference, are a significantly different team at home vs. when playing in a hostile road venue.

Yes, that's typically the sign of a team that isn't truly elite, and I'm not sure I've seen where anyone with any football sense has said that about this year's Aggies. And who would have expected to hear as much when describing Elko's first team? This is a group that played sub-.500 ball in the two seasons before his arrival and had not won a road game in two-plus seasons. The progress in less than one season has been enough to catch the attention of talking heads and rival coaches around the conference and country, but that praise won't buy an ounce of favor when the Aggies take the field against the 10-1 Longhorns on Saturday night.

However, what will be working in the favor of the Ags is the 12th Man.

For as much as the Aggies have struggled in their lost two road contests, this is also a team that knocked off the last two top-10 teams that came to Kyle Field by a combined score of 79-33. If anything will motivate the A&M defense to get back to playing high-end football, it's towels waving, music blaring, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band and over 110k worth of yells echoing onto the field. We're talking about the type of environment that swallowed up so many highly-ranked teams this fall. Places like Kyle, Jordan-Hare and Williams-Brice, along with The Swamp, Death Valley, Bryant-Denny, Neyland, Oxford and Athens. You know, all of the places that Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns have not visited this fall.

Not yet, anyway.

On Saturday night, the Horns will face the type of test that has gotten the best of so many top-10 playoff contenders this fall, and they'll be doing so for the first time.

On Saturday night, the Horns will face the type of test that has gotten the best of so many top-10 playoff contenders this fall, and they'll be doing so for the first time.

A road game (just Texas' third). At night (the Horns' first). This one coming against the most bitter of rivals.

Look, if the Aggies shock the college football world and reach the playoffs, they will have to earn it. If the Longhorns claim an SEC title in year one as a conference member, they will have to earn it by going through Texas A&M in front of the 12th Man and winning a rematch with the one team that has beaten them this fall.

For the Aggies, the difference between winning and losing on Saturday is pretty wild.

Win and the Ags not only beat Texas and gain some long-awaited revenge dating all the way back to 2011, but they’d also knock the Horns out of the SEC title race while clinching their first-ever berth in the big game. It also means a 9-3 regular season in year one under Elko, complete with wins over the Longhorns and LSU, accounting for two of the three top-10 takedowns in front of the home fans.

We're also talking about the Aggies then teeing it up with Georgia for a berth in the playoff.

Longshots, but longshots that are still on the table while teams like Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee wish they were in the Ags' spot.

However, with a loss to Texas, the Aggies will be out of any postseason conversation sans a bowl game and will finish 5-3 in SEC play after starting a perfect 5-0. While an 8-4 season in year one under Elko would match the first-year mark of Jimbo Fisher and be better than what current league bosses like Sarkisian, Josh Heupel, Freeze, Brent Venables and even Smart were able to muster, the reality is the Aggies escalated (still reasonable) expectations during the season and dropping three straight (including two to then-unranked opponents) felt avoidable then and now.

While three league losses in a row would disappoint, what I won't do is sit here and express concern over where the Aggies are heading under Elko.

He's well on his way to quickly righting the ship, and I believe next year's outlook is going to look pretty damn good once the portal dust settles and the Ags use NIL funds to keep a few guys many believe could be moving on to the NFL.

But it's not the future that matters as we sit there today. It's the present.

As it turns out, the Aggies did not run out of chances last night on The Plains. Everything they want is right in front of them, and they'll have the entire sports world watching on Saturday night. Beat your arch-rival, and you earn the most important and impactful victory in a long, long time and set yourself up for a chance to do it all over again a week later.

Elko and the Aggies are in a spot now where they'll get as many more chances as they can go out and earn.

Auburn loss and absolutely preposterous overtime rules aside, that's a hell of a place to be...just ask all of the teams that were unable to make it this far.

That said, there's too much on the line for the Aggies not to find a way to shake out of their recent funk and show the Longhorns what life on the road in the SEC is really about.

[Tex Pete 20429]

Who knew Loochi was a novelist?

[Spindletop 86]

Probably written by AI.

[Reynolds Woodcock 4797]

1 hour ago, Longhornfrenzy said:

 

Seven straight wins, including taking down a pair of top-10 opponents at Kyle Field.

 

For as much as the Aggies have struggled in their lost two road contests, this is also a team that knocked off the last two top-10 teams that came to Kyle Field by a combined score of 79-33. 

It also means a 9-3 regular season in year one under Elko, complete with wins over the Longhorns and LSU, accounting for two of the three top-10 takedowns in front of the home fans.

Edited 6 hours ago by Reynolds Woodcock

[Longhornfrenzy 5804]

Muff Chin

---

Segment 1 (00:00:00 - 12:01:17)

• No matter how much we yell and scream as fans, it will not change anything. We have been perfectly critical of the performance. Something needs to be stated about the comeback and the fight they showed. There is no excuse for digging a 21-point hole. That is how the game was lost. You have so much in front of you. It happens in this conference. 
   
• It is a unique and weird year in the league. More importantly, it is a unique year for Texas A&M. This Auburn game is very important. It dramatically changes how Mike Elko's first season is perceived. Losing to Auburn had a big effect on this season. Being 9-2 going into the Texas game would feel much different than all the recent seasons. 
   
• You can recalibrate expectations. As the stakes went up, you said they needed to win at Auburn and South Carolina. They certainly don't need to lose to both and give up 80 points. They don't need to fall down, 21-0. They are better than that.
   
• Don't tell me that Texas A&M has backed its way into this situation because Alabama and Ole Miss lost. In some ways, yes, but they have played seven games that have put them in this position. It's fine to say that the Aggies haven't faced a schedule as tough as Alabama or Georgia. They have played a schedule equally as hard as Texas and Tennessee. They played a schedule that isn't much easier than Ole Miss. Everyone got stung one way or the other. 
   
• Texas A&M was stung by Auburn. A 5-1 SEC team should not lose to a 1-5 SEC team. Neither should Alabama, which was stung by Vanderbilt and a really bad Oklahoma team. Ole Miss was stung by Kentucky and Florida. Tennessee was stung in Fayetteville. 
   
• Texas A&M can't back its way into the SEC Championship or the College Football Playoff. Now, they have to win. That is why this Auburn game is so costly. If Texas A&M were to beat Texas and make the playoffs, it would be a wildly successful first season under Elko. 
   
• If you had beaten Auburn and Texas, you would be in the College Football Playoff. A week ago, we were wondering what would happen to a 10-3 Texas A&M. With what happened to all the other teams this weekend, Texas A&M at 10-3 with a win over Texas and being the only 7-1 SEC team would 100 percent be in the College Football Playoff. A 10-3 team in this scenario gets in. That is off the table now. People will argue with me. They will protect the SEC Championship loser, but there is a limit. A fourth loss of the season crosses that limit. 
   
• Texas A&M's playoff starts now. You have a home game against the No. 3 seed. If you win that, you get to play Georgia in their backyard. This is the playoffs. I have difficulty thinking that the playoffs outside the final four would be this exciting. You are playing Texas and then would get a crack at Georgia for an SEC Championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Taking the field at Atlanta would be the pinnacle of modern A&M football up to this point. 
   
• What stands in your way is your hated rival that you have not played in thirteen years. They are coming in just as hungry to beat you as you are to beat them. This is going to be good old-fashioned Lone Star hate. It is a damn good football team that is in your way. They have great players at most positions on the field. They still haven't played anyone with an offense yet. This Texas A&M offense has struggled against lesser defenses than Texas'. It is an elite defense led by high-level draft picks. It is an offense with future NFL picks at every position. It is tough, but the only thing standing in the way.

Segment 2 (12:01:18 - 16:20:13)

• A&M is "average," but one of only three teams that have a chance to play for an SEC Championship? They will exceed what people who have nothing to do with A&M expected. They didn't bungle jack crap with the quarterback situation. They picked the right guy. Your guy got hurt, came back from an injury, played poorly, got hurt again, then lost it. They didn't bungle it. 
   
• Marcel Reed's progression has been perfect. He got his feet wet, showed a lot, and is a much better quarterback now. 
   
• I agree Bryce Anderson has to improve at making open-field stops. I've been saying that a lot. That was one of my main concerns. I don't know the difference between us saying this guy needs to get a lot better at this, or if they can't get it done, they need to find a formula that works vs. saying this guy can't tackle this guy in the open field. You don't have to do that. If you listen, you can hear the criticisms. We're not talking in some secret code.
   
• If you want to cry and moan all week and think that A&M can't beat Texas, then that's fine. The oddsmakers will agree with you. I think you're a damn fool if you don't think that A&M can beat Texas. Throughout 11 games, Texas has been a slightly better team than A&M. Has A&M had a tougher path? Yes. Both teams had a decent schedule so far. Through that many games? Yes. Is the gap that wide? No.

Segment 3 (16:20:14 - 32:26:28)

• They did put pressure on the passer against South Carolina, and they missed tackles, so that's still the same problem. They were putting pressure on LaNorris Sellers. I was disappointed with the defensive front the past two weeks in general. I think we talked about that plenty. I think the receivers have improved as the season has gone on. A couple of guys like Jabre Barber and Noah Thomas had strong games.
   
• Mike Elko is as honest and a straight shooter of a coach as you get there. I don't get what the athletic department is supposed to do. Post self-loathing tweets after losses? Is that what you want? I would put the way we cover this team against anything, anywhere, ever. We've been doing it for 20-plus years, and it's only improving. If you're going to send in texts like that, I don't give a damn what you think other than you gave me some good content today. It won't change anything we do, whether we listen or not. You can text in if they lose to Texas. I think it will be a hell of a game, and I expect them to play a lot better.
   
• I was so pissed watching that game the other night. Not getting stops, not getting that fourth down stop, and having a great chance to win that game in OT. I was pissed. As mad as a sports fan can be, I also big picture understand whats going on here. Should they have won that game? Yes. You should have won that game. I did not feel that way against South Carolina. They should have won this game. Elko knows it. The team knows it. We know it. Everyone knows it. 
   
• How costly is it? We'll find out after next Saturday. If they win Saturday, it won't cost you a spot at the SEC Championship. If they win Saturday, it is costly if you lose to Georgia. In year one, you've got to give this coach, his staff, and even his players a bit of grace in your expectations. The guy that is coming in here next Saturday that everyone's kissing his ass went 5-7 in the Big 12 in year one. The guy in Tuscaloosa who inherited the greatest culture ever has won four SEC games. With the greatest program they've ever purchased, Lane Kiffin has lost three games. Tennessee was 7-6 in year one. I can give you a million examples. Brian Kelly was amazing in year one, but they were 9-3 and lost to an unranked A&M in year one. 
   
• Mike Elko has the chance to do the same thing. What has Brian Kelly done in year three? He's lost more games than Mike Elko, and he's had three years to build that thing. It's hard. It's not easy to do. The fact is that A&M has been very relevant through 11 games. They beat two top-ten teams at home. Auburn is a bad loss. Alabama has two bad losses. Ole Miss has two bad losses. A&M started the season with College GameDay, and they will end it with College GameDay. 
   
• If you get to Atlanta in year one, it is a breakthrough for a season, with the sky being the limit. I'm fired up. This game has my full attention now. If A&M can beat Texas, they can fire up Elko's quote from last week.
   
• Nothing else matters this week. We talked about how impressive Mike Elko was in the portal last year. BJ Mayes, Scooby WIlliams, Nic Scourton, Cyrus Allen, Jabre Barber and Ar'Maj Reed-Adams... To do that in a condensed window as a new coach and not having certain position coaches, what can they do in the portal this time? I think they're going to kill it in the portal this time. The point is this portal and the ability to keep guys; I think Aggie fans will be in for a couple of surprises in terms of guys who they think will go to the NFL and will stay.

Segment 4 (32:26:29 - 38:39:27)

• It was the first time that Texas A&M got caught up in the madness. The score of the South Carolina game may have been shocking around the SEC. It was a lot more competitive than the score. Texas A&M got beat up that night. Anyone who knew anything knew South Carolina was a tough hurdle for Texas A&M. 
   
• People thought the same thing about Auburn. The difference between South Carolina and Auburn is that South Carolina is a real team this year. Auburn is a talented and dangerous team. Statistically, they were better offensively than Texas A&M. They have one of the league's leading rushers. They had a bunch of close losses where they turned the ball over. 
   
• I thought somebody would get home between Nic Scourton, Shemar Stewart and Shemar Turner. There will be a fumble or a tipped ball interception. In fifteen plays, you couldn't do it. Auburn has made that mistake all year. That was the only thing keeping them from having a better record.
   
• It was a road game at night. Texas A&M had not been dominant. Le'Veon Moss was a big part of why the Aggies had been pulling away from teams. All of those things were tied into why that spread was what it was. 
   
• At the end of the day, that is not South Carolina. This Auburn team will likely not qualify for a bowl, but they could give Alabama all they can handle.

Segment 5 (38:39:28 - 48:04:21)

• I thought it was insane that Auburn and South Carolina were not called for holding all games. Yet, they called holding on A&M, which was on Shane Calhoun. I get that it's a hold, but I watched Auburn's final drive, and he was held down and spun around. Otherwise, he gets a sack. To go back and forth like that, you just can't. To go eight quarters, South Carolina kicked A&M's butts.
   
• They also held the everliving, you-know-what out of Nic Scourton in that game. For it not to be called once in either game is wild. Maybe they need to sell it more, or maybe they're getting themselves locked up more than they should. I'm sure it's a combination of both, but there's no way in hell.
   
• You got to get at Quinn Ewers. You've got to get after him. One poster of a quarter million said they want to see A&M hurt Ewers. Nobody thinks that way. Everybody in football wants to see your defense play physically and get after the quarterback. That's football. You want your guys to punish the other team physically. It's SEC football. To cry because one guy took it too far on Twitter/X, and no one agrees... No one wants to see A&M headhunting for Ewers and vice versa. Stop being so soft.
   
• Amari Daniels is a passionate player. 27 for 91 doesn't move the needle in yards per attempt, but that was a really good Auburn defense. It might have been the third-best defense in the SEC in total yards. A&M put up 31 points in regulation. Reed had some really nice numbers. They moved the ball throughout the game and killed themselves early when they should have had 10 or 14 points and ended up with none. They moved the ball pretty steadily against a really good SEC defense.

Segment 6 (48:04:22 - 55:06:24)

• The Auburn loss the other night was the same-old Texas A&M. This season is not that. They have a chance to prove that this weekend.
   
• I don't know when Texas A&M last beat three top-ten teams at home in the same season. Rarely has the schedule provided the opportunity for that. There wasn't an opportunity to do that for most of the Southwest Conference years. One year in the Big 12, the Aggies beat two top-ten teams, Oklahoma and Nebraska. 
   
• People wrote this team off after Notre Dame. My optimism took a hit. I knew it was game one in season one.
   
• The other night was tried and true Texas A&M. Get your hopes up and lose a game you shouldn't. On a scale of terrible to elite, Texas A&M has rarely been up to very good. They have rarely been able to say that this is a top-tier SEC team and a title contender. It has been twice, or at most three times. In the Big 12, they could only say it in 1997-98. It has been rare. When that is the case, you are going to have games like this.
   
• You can't just flip a light switch of a football program overnight. They went on the road and lost a game they needed to win.
   
• It may be hard to replicate this defensive line depth. Mike Elko can put together a group of NFL defensive linemen and depth. He did that the first time around here. He didn't walk into a roster littered with NFL guys, except for the defensive line.
   
• I love what they are doing with Terry Bussey. I said they would use more empty and put him in motion. That helps Reed have some room to operate but also gets Bussey reps running the ball without turning him into a running back.
   
• I disagree with the notion that we had beaten Auburn and Texas and lost the SEC Championship game. We would have been left out of the College Football Playoffs. I would have agreed with that a week ago. We would now be in the playoffs at 10-3.
   
• To start Saturday, the Aggies were in a must-win three-in-a-row situation to get to the playoffs, in my opinion. A 10-3 Texas A&M would have been left out. They wouldn't have gotten in over a 10-2 Texas team or an 11-1 Indiana team. They would have been left out for Ole Miss and Alabama, too.
   
• As it turns out, thanks to Oklahoma and Florida, the Aggies did not need to win three in a row. They need to win two in a row against Texas and Georgia. They only need to beat No. 3 Texas and the SEC juggernaut Georgia Bulldogs led by Kirby Smart

[WBT 20650]

9 minutes ago, Longhornfrenzy said:

You can recalibrate expectations. As the stakes went up, you said they needed to win at Auburn and South Carolina. They certainly don't need to lose to both and give up 80 points. They don't need to fall down, 21-0. They are better than that.

*87

[BurntOrangeCrush 1016]

5 hours ago, Longhornfrenzy said:

 

Ph

 

 

By Billy Liucci

 

 

After falling behind 21-0 at Jordan-Hare, coming all the way back to take a 31-28 lead only to fail to put Auburn away and eventually lose it in overtime, the Aggies had finally run out of chances.

A season that sure felt like it would be a rebuilding experience in year one under first-year head coach Mike Elko following a game one loss to Notre Dame saw this A&M team show steady in-season improvement.

Despite uncertainty at quarterback, the Aggies found themselves alone in first place in the mighty Southeastern Conference after racing out to a 5-0 start. Seven straight wins, including taking down a pair of top-10 opponents at Kyle Field.

After disposing of Missouri and LSU in rousing fashion, all that stood between Texas A&M and the ultimate showdown with the Texas Longhorns were a couple of dangerous but certainly winnable SEC road dates.

Then the Aggies traveled to Columbia and ran into what turned out to be (and still is) a white-hot South Carolina team. A&M laid an egg as the Gamecocks pulled away during a dominant 24-0 second half.

As it turns out, all that cost the Ags was their short-lived top-10 ranking. Why? Because 2024 is the wildest season of conference play in SEC history.

Following a bye and a tuneup against New Mexico State, all that stood between the Maroon & White and a win-and-in, lose and you're out season finale with Texas was a trip to The Plains to take on a 4-6 Auburn squad. The Tigers entered last night's game just 1-5 in league play, and the folks at Auburn were hoping to roll Hugh Freeze out of town more than they were expecting to roll Toomer's Corner.

 

Based on 10 games worth of evidence, the Aggies were clearly the better team heading into last night's contest. But what Elko, me, you, the college football media, Nick Saban and Vegas (what was always a very fishy line moved all the way down to A&M minus-1 at one point) all knew was that this one was more than a simple “trap” game.

No, the Tigers had clearly been playing much better ball of late, and as Saban put it, Jordan-Hare Stadium is “haunted.” After watching A&M's last two trips there, I'd certainly agree with the GOAT that the home of War Eagle is a house of horrors, especially at night.

Combine that with the fact that, like Shane Beamer at South Carolina, Freeze fields a team that can match up on generally even footing with the Aggies in terms of raw talent, and that's especially true on defense and at the skill spots.

Long story short, Elko and everyone knew the Ags' margin for error was razor-thin on The Plains.

Anything less than A&M's best was sure to put the stakes of what would otherwise be the most anticipated regular-season game in Aggie history in jeopardy.

The Tigers entered the final two games of the regular season looking for bowl eligibility and to play spoiler. With dates against No. 15 Texas A&M and then the Iron Bowl on deck, everyone in orange and blue entered Saturday believing something special was in the air, so the Ags were clearly on high alert entering the 6:30 p.m. kickoff.

However...somehow, someway...Elko's bunch wasn't ready to answer the bell.

Like in Columbia, the Aggies got hit in the mouth early and needed a standing eight count before responding. Down 14-0 at South Carolina after just two possessions, the Ags dug themselves an even deeper hole last night, falling behind 21-0 just two minutes into the second quarter. And though the Ags showed incredible fight, toughness and heart in climbing back into the game and eventually taking the lead before falling in four overtimes, falling behind by three touchdowns set the stage for disaster in the very early going.

Even so, everyone on the team flight home was likely rehashing the number of missed opportunities down the stretch, any of which could have changed the 43-41 outcome had the Ags capitalized.

Promising first-quarter drives that ended in a missed field goal and a red zone interception.

 

A shanked Auburn punt that set the Ags up past midfield just before halftime.

Failing to turn a 15-yard field into seven early in the fourth.

A dropped snap on first-and-10 while trying to execute the four-minute offense and go home a winner and a couple of disastrous drops, one that could have gone a long way towards ending the game in regulation and another that would have extended it to a fifth OT.

Another overtime error came via a very costly holding call, which turned a second-and-2 17 yards away from a walk-off win into a first-and-20 from the 35-yard line.

And, of course, there was Auburn's game-tying, last-second score, a 15-play march that saw Payton Thorne lead the Tigers 75 yards thanks in large part to a 25-yard scramble on fourth-and-2.

Change any of those outcomes, and the Aggies win despite falling behind 21-0 on the road.

By roaring back against the Tigers, the Ags would have set Saturday night in the SEC ablaze while setting the stage for an epic rivalry renewal at Kyle Field. But the Aggies ran out of chances and dropped a second straight SEC contest in a bitterly disappointing fashion.

Elko and his team knew winning at Auburn was a must if they wanted to keep their SEC title and playoff hopes alive.

Or so we thought.

As it turns out, the Aggies have not run out of chances, thanks to the fact that virtually the entire league — including the contenders — have suffered through nights like the ones A&M did in Columbia and at Auburn, including two other chaos-inducing upsets on the penultimate Saturday of what's been an absolutely bonkers regular-season. Ole Miss, Lane Kiffin and Jaxson Dart were left in tears at The Swamp by none other than DJ Lagway and the coach not-so-affectionately known as “Sun Belt Billy.” At the same time, the Tide (led by another former Aggie QB target, Jalen Milroe) got rolled in an embarrassing manner yet again, this time by Oklahoma.

While the Ags fell victim to one for the second time in as many road games, the fact that both Alabama and Ole Miss had to flee jubilant mobs in Norman and Gainesville opened the door for one last chance in a wild 2024 season.

In those two games, the top-10 and seemingly playoff-bound teams were favored by a combined 25.5 points on the road.

Unfortunately for the Rebels and Tide, the road is where playoff dreams have repeatedly died in the SEC this fall.

Don't get it twisted. Playing on the road (especially at night) has always been a different animal than in other Power 4 leagues. This year? Well, it's never been wilder, as Greg Sankey has seemingly had to levy a field-storming fine each and every weekend. While the Ags fell victim to one for the second time in as many road games, the fact that both Alabama and Ole Miss had to flee jubilant mobs in Norman and Gainesville opened the door for one last chance in a wild 2024 season.

The unexpected dominoes falling means that — even after Saturday's 4OT setback — Elko's Aggies still have a clear shot to Atlanta.

For the first time since joining the Southeastern Conference in 2012, A&M will take the field in the season-finale knowing “win and you're in” and on to Atlanta.

It's also the first time the Ags have played in such a game since 1998 (well, technically, the Ags had already clinched that year before falling to Texas in Austin on Ricky Williams' record-setting day).

The fact that said game will come vs. the Longhorns is more than enough to make Saturday's showdown special. Combine that with the fact that the bitter Lone Star rivals haven't squared off in 13 long years and that the winner advances to the SEC title game and the loser is out — and in A&M's case, out of the playoff picture — and you have what is arguably the most meaningful and high-profile contest in the storied history of Kyle Field, the Aggie-Longhorn rivalry and perhaps even ever for the Maroon & White.

Do the Aggies deserve such a shot after dropping the ball vs. an Auburn team whose only SEC win prior to last night was Kentucky?

While it may not feel like it on the day after, of course, they do.

Look, the reality is that — in year one under a new head coach — this A&M team has plenty of weaknesses and flaws. They're far from elite and can beat or lose to anyone on the conference schedule on a given Saturday.

 

Guess what? The same can be said about pretty much everyone in the now-16-team league.

In a way, Elko's first year came at a very opportune time for Texas A&M football. The Aggies have cashed in on that opportunity enough to be one of just three teams left standing as we enter Thanksgiving weekend. While a win against Arkansas doesn't seem like much, Tennessee would beg to differ. Ole Miss and LSU would say the same about winning at The Swamp. Mizzou is still trending to finish 9-3, and the Ags trounced an LSU team that managed to knock off the Rebels.

While everyone in the conference has stepped on a landmine or three since SEC play began, the Ags looked up this morning and realized the only teams still somewhat intact are Georgia (Kirby Smart's Bulldogs have already clinched a spot in the Dec. 7 title game), Texas and Texas A&M.

That's it.

The Auburn loss has just left a bad taste in everyone's mouth, and understandably so, but all the defeat really means in terms of the Ags' championship hopes is that any playoff hopes now end with a single L. Because of yesterday's rash of upsets around college football, a win over Auburn probably would have ensured that a 10-3 A&M team that lost in Atlanta would have made it past the selection committee and into the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. However, because of last night's result at Jordan-Hare, the Aggies are going to have to hoist a conference title trophy for the first time since my first year on the A&M beat ('98) to pull off the improbable in year one under Elko.

If anyone tries to tell you that the Aggies backed their way into their current position, kindly remind them there will be no backing into Atlanta or the CFP.

No, to get there, A&M will have to knock off No. 3 Texas and No. 10 Georgia in the Dawgs' home away from home. The Ags will be heavy underdogs in both contests, but this is the year of the upset in the SEC, is it not? A&M beating Texas at Kyle Field in front of 108,000 strong might not qualify in this year's top-10 when listing stunning SEC outcomes. And for as good as Georgia has been under Smart, his current team has looked pretty vulnerable in losses to Alabama and Ole Miss and even in wins against the likes of Kentucky and Florida.

 

Of course, the issue Elko and his staff are scrapping through as we enter Lone Star Showdown week is that the Aggies have been pretty vulnerable themselves in recent weeks. While losing Le'Veon Moss has really hurt, and Marcel Reed is still very much learning on the job (never optimal in the SEC if you're expecting week-to-week excellence or even consistency), the reality is that the Aggies are at least finding ways to move the ball and have averaged 32.6 points per game in SEC play, putting up 31 in regulation last night despite a slow start. A few weeks ago, a middle-of-the-pack offense bolstered by Moss and Reed's leadership and raw playmaking ability sure felt like it could be enough, thanks mainly to what was considered a high-end SEC defense led by what looked like arguably the league's best front four. However, in the last eight quarters of SEC play, the wheels have come off of the A&M defense in stunning fashion. Missed tackles, wide-open receivers, gaping holes in the run game and the inability to get to the quarterback were a regular occurrence Saturday and at South Carolina, and the result was the Tigers and Gamecocks putting up a combined 75 points (in regulation) and 999 total yards. It is not the time of year you want to see what had been the clear strength of your team spring significant leaks...even more so when your other strength, running the football, took such a monumental hit when Moss went down at South Carolina.

But if there's anything this season — in College Station and around the SEC — has taught us so far, it's that the Aggies, like most in the conference, are a significantly different team at home vs. when playing in a hostile road venue.

Yes, that's typically the sign of a team that isn't truly elite, and I'm not sure I've seen where anyone with any football sense has said that about this year's Aggies. And who would have expected to hear as much when describing Elko's first team? This is a group that played sub-.500 ball in the two seasons before his arrival and had not won a road game in two-plus seasons. The progress in less than one season has been enough to catch the attention of talking heads and rival coaches around the conference and country, but that praise won't buy an ounce of favor when the Aggies take the field against the 10-1 Longhorns on Saturday night.

However, what will be working in the favor of the Ags is the 12th Man.

For as much as the Aggies have struggled in their lost two road contests, this is also a team that knocked off the last two top-10 teams that came to Kyle Field by a combined score of 79-33. If anything will motivate the A&M defense to get back to playing high-end football, it's towels waving, music blaring, the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band and over 110k worth of yells echoing onto the field. We're talking about the type of environment that swallowed up so many highly-ranked teams this fall. Places like Kyle, Jordan-Hare and Williams-Brice, along with The Swamp, Death Valley, Bryant-Denny, Neyland, Oxford and Athens. You know, all of the places that Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns have not visited this fall.

Not yet, anyway.

On Saturday night, the Horns will face the type of test that has gotten the best of so many top-10 playoff contenders this fall, and they'll be doing so for the first time.

On Saturday night, the Horns will face the type of test that has gotten the best of so many top-10 playoff contenders this fall, and they'll be doing so for the first time.

A road game (just Texas' third). At night (the Horns' first). This one coming against the most bitter of rivals.

Look, if the Aggies shock the college football world and reach the playoffs, they will have to earn it. If the Longhorns claim an SEC title in year one as a conference member, they will have to earn it by going through Texas A&M in front of the 12th Man and winning a rematch with the one team that has beaten them this fall.

For the Aggies, the difference between winning and losing on Saturday is pretty wild.

Win and the Ags not only beat Texas and gain some long-awaited revenge dating all the way back to 2011, but they’d also knock the Horns out of the SEC title race while clinching their first-ever berth in the big game. It also means a 9-3 regular season in year one under Elko, complete with wins over the Longhorns and LSU, accounting for two of the three top-10 takedowns in front of the home fans.

We're also talking about the Aggies then teeing it up with Georgia for a berth in the playoff.

Longshots, but longshots that are still on the table while teams like Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee wish they were in the Ags' spot.

However, with a loss to Texas, the Aggies will be out of any postseason conversation sans a bowl game and will finish 5-3 in SEC play after starting a perfect 5-0. While an 8-4 season in year one under Elko would match the first-year mark of Jimbo Fisher and be better than what current league bosses like Sarkisian, Josh Heupel, Freeze, Brent Venables and even Smart were able to muster, the reality is the Aggies escalated (still reasonable) expectations during the season and dropping three straight (including two to then-unranked opponents) felt avoidable then and now.

While three league losses in a row would disappoint, what I won't do is sit here and express concern over where the Aggies are heading under Elko.

He's well on his way to quickly righting the ship, and I believe next year's outlook is going to look pretty damn good once the portal dust settles and the Ags use NIL funds to keep a few guys many believe could be moving on to the NFL.

But it's not the future that matters as we sit there today. It's the present.

As it turns out, the Aggies did not run out of chances last night on The Plains. Everything they want is right in front of them, and they'll have the entire sports world watching on Saturday night. Beat your arch-rival, and you earn the most important and impactful victory in a long, long time and set yourself up for a chance to do it all over again a week later.

Elko and the Aggies are in a spot now where they'll get as many more chances as they can go out and earn.

Auburn loss and absolutely preposterous overtime rules aside, that's a hell of a place to be...just ask all of the teams that were unable to make it this far.

That said, there's too much on the line for the Aggies not to find a way to shake out of their recent funk and show the Longhorns what life on the road in the SEC is really about.

I will do a Cliff Note version for those that don't want to read all that drivel...

- The Auburn Team is really good despite their record, and that game really doesn't matter anyway. But Looch reminds you that playing Auburn at their place is like playing the Chiefs at Arrowhead, and they still almost won

- Texas is about to step in and play a team that has already knocked off 2 top 10 teams at home. (Yes he is counting Mizz and LSWho as top 10 teams)

- Texas hasn't played anyone with an offense yet, and the 12th man will be frothing at the mouth to intimidate. Look what happened to those other top 10 teams that visited Kyle Field!

- Elko is maybe the best hire ever, and this year they are at the least one of the SEC Elites. In his first year!

- Even Saban said playing at Auburn is a nightmare. And at least we aren't Ole Miss or Bama. Their losses are much worse, so nothing to see here.

- Even if Ags lose to Texas, Elko has far exceeded expectations. Next year is looking great, and future NFL stars on the roster now will stay for another year due to love of the ELK and NIL funds ready to lay down.

 

You're welcome

[MonkeyDoughnut 10342]

6 minutes ago, BurntOrangeCrush said:

I will do a Cliff Note version for those that don't want to read all that drivel...

- The Auburn Team is really good despite their record, and that game really doesn't matter anyway. But Looch reminds you that playing Auburn at their place is like playing the Chiefs at Arrowhead, and they still almost won

- Texas is about to step in and play a team that has already knocked off 2 top 10 teams at home. (Yes he is counting Mizz and LSWho as top 10 teams)

- Texas hasn't played anyone with an offense yet, and the 12th man will be frothing at the mouth to intimidate. Look what happened to those other top 10 teams that visited Kyle Field!

- Elko is maybe the best hire ever, and this year they are at the least one of the SEC Elites. In his first year!

- Even Saban said playing at Auburn is a nightmare. And at least we aren't Ole Miss or Bama. Their losses are much worse, so nothing to see here.

- Even if Ags lose to Texas, Elko has far exceeded expectations. Next year is looking great, and future NFL stars on the roster now will stay for another year due to love of the ELK and NIL funds ready to lay down.

 

You're welcome

so...