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TexasRenegade

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Posts posted by TexasRenegade

  1. 1 hour ago, Getafix said:

    Tarp with a dopey, contrived scenario.

    Tarps' Take: Ags-Bama game biggest of Fisher's A&M tenure

    Tarp (Aggie 247)

     

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    Tarps' Take: Ags-Bama game biggest of Fisher's A&M tenure

    Tarp (Aggie 247)

     

    Texas A&M and Texas haven’t played each other in over a decade a generation. On the surface, a new generation hasn’t experienced the passion that this kind of an in state rivalry brings to a fan base.

    Many were glad when A&M left what they considered to be an inferior league and put a school that seemingly ran that league in the rear view mirror, never to be thought of again. In addition, without having to worry about their neighbors or coworkers celebrating Texas wins for 365 days a year, losses in the nation’s best league had more of businesslike feel to them.

    It didn’t hurt that the Horns have struggled moreso in the intervening years, always proclaiming themselves to be back when the reality was that they were on a treadmill of mediocrity. A&M’s money, prestige, and athletic programs surged in their new surroundings and it was attributed In part to the fact that the university had taken its eyes off of what was going on to the west of it and had re-focused them on it neighbors to the east were doing.

    However, many Aggies who were involved with the both the school and athletic department continued to keep a watchful eye on the school over in Austin even as the hot war between the two programs transitioned into a cold one. In particular, A&M’s place as the only Texas based school in the Southeastern Conference gave it a unique identity relative to the one that it had for the previous century plus. A&M recruited better than Texas for the most part during the intervening years due to this piece of leverage with recruits.

    When the news broke that the Texas and Oklahoma had applied for membership to the SEC and then were joining the league, all of A&M’s advantages had apparently disappeared in the blink of an eye. On the surface, there was concern that Texas would attempt to do the SEC what it was credited doing to the old Southwest Conference and Big 12….run those leagues to their benefit and the detriment of everyone else.

    More quietly, A&M could no longer sell the fact that it was the only SEC school in the state in the recruiting wars for in state or even national prospects. Back in the day, the series between the two programs tended to run in cycles because recruiting was more of a regional phenomenon. If you won your game, you had your choice of the best recruits in the state. That ensured you of winning the next game and the next game after that.

    Thus, you had A&M winning nine of ten in the 1980’s and 1990’s and then Mack Brown losing just four times to the Aggies during his tenure (which comprised all of the 2000’s).

    When the announcement was made about SEC expansion, A&M seemed well placed for the Horns’ 2024 or 2025 entry into the conference. Jimbo Fisher had just taken the Aggies to the precipice of the College Football Playoff, they were on the verge of a number one ranked recruiting class in the country, and they had just ensured that he would stick around for another decade in College Station via a contract extension.

    However, A&M promptly stumbled to an 8-4 record in 2021 and then fell to 5-7 last year. Recently hired Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian had virtually the same record the past two years as Fisher himself.

    Nonetheless, many people thought that A&M was considered to have missed an opportunity to generate some real separation between the two programs before both were in the same league once again.

    In fact, there has been more of a sense of urgency behind the scenes in Aggieland going into 2023 due to this factor, especially when Texas started the season ranked much higher than A&M. The Aggies needed a bigger than projected 2023 campaign with the 2022 recruiting class playing a prominent role. Last weekend was supposed to be a move in that direction as the Aggies traveled to Miami for a date with a name program while Texas was traveling to Tuscaloosa to a play a top five Alabama squad. In particular, a loss to the Tide would show the world how SEC unready the Horns were. A&M would pick up a win, go on to beat Auburn and Arkansas, and then set up a top ten showdown on A&M”s home turf in October.

    A&M would win, use the game as a springboard to another 2022 type of recruiting class, and re-establish that their massive financial investments in Fisher and the program as a whole were paying off.

    Texas would be second guessed for its hire of Sarkisian, facing the possibility of another failed head coaching search in the post Mack Brown era, and would be looking at its 2024 trip to Kyle Field as well as its membership in the SEC with much trepidation.

    Instead, the Aggies blew a double digit lead versus the unranked Canes and looked very much like the same program they had been in 2021 and 2022. Even worse, Texas beat the top five Tide on the road, got a great performance from both Sarkisian (like Fisher a former Nick Saban assistant) and quarterback Quinn Ewers, and were proclaimed a favorite to win the Big 12 and make the CFP.

    In the distant past or even the near future, A&M would eventually play the Horns and have a chance to undo the current perception of the two schools right now by beating them.

    Instead, the Alabama game next month has become a point of comparison for A&M and Texas.

    If the Aggies don’t beat Alabama…something that the Horns just accomplished….then it’s going to be hard to argue that despite a decade long advantage in preparation that the Horns will have passed them up before they even made it to the SEC.

    In particular, given the number of high end prospects that are expected to be at that game and the bounce that A&M got from its 2021 win over the Tide, it’s going to be the biggest contest of the season in that regard.

    Most of all, it’s now become the biggest game of Jimbo Fisher’s career simply because of the events of last weekend.

    Fisher has done well in A&M under pressure in the past with home wins over top ten Kentucky and LSU in 2018, top five Florida in 2020, number one Alabama in 2021 (after back to back losses), and top five LSU in 2022 (with a 4-7 record). He’s motivated by the thought of beating his mentor in addition to winning in front of the nation’s top recruits. His game plans are better, and his teams are more motivated and play smarter in those games.

    There’s also no question that this year’s Tide aren’t the ones we’ve seen the past few seasons.

    Nonetheless, due to the events of last weekend, the Tide have become a stand in for the Horns in advance of the 2024 game between the two programs.

    That may be an advantage for Fisher and the Aggies given what’s at stake…but there’s no denying what’s at stake has come a year sooner than anyone could have imagined....which makes this game bigger than all of the rest.

     

     

    Tarp must have a masters in obfuscation and ommission.

    1 hour ago, HtownHorn said:

    If Milroe can play a clean game against aggy, and aggy has forced zero TOs, then Bama will boat race aggy. Saban will get shit figured out and fixed long before Jimbo. Plus, Alabama will not quit on Saban, aggy is a loss in their next 3 games (highly likely) away from the ship hitting the iceberg.

    Excuse me sir.  Aggies don't quit....they get the flu....

    • Hook 'Em 1
  2. 4 hours ago, closetojumping said:

    Everything we have been forecasting about Clemson is coming true. I know I’m not some sort of savant with stuff I’ve said personally, I have just seen all of this before. Clemson is currently trending deeply into late stage Mack territory. 

    We said Klubnik was a long strider who was wildly overrated from a system school. Sound familiar? We all knew it in this forum because we’d seen it. 

    They look slow? It’s because they are. They don’t have dynamic playmakers at WR or TB any more because Dabo decided he wanted more “character guys”. Sound familiar?

    Their offense and defense look predictable. I wonder why? It couldn’t be due to a strict adherence to what Dabo believes is his Clemson “system” could it?

    He still has time to fix the problems, but his issue is the same as Mack’s was. You’re effectively asking him to fix what he thinks got him there in the first place. 

    Name the Big 12 offenses that are a lot better? Kansas? Maybe. There isn’t another one on the schedule. 

    The defensive design for this game was to hang the secondary out to dry in order keep a functional front 7 facing Milroe. They knew that Bama connecting deep was going to cost them a score or two. 

    I doubt we see that defense again all season. 

    Speaking of Mack, he is in full blown bitch mode about his transfer not getting approved....And I have to say I love the NCAA's response:

    "citing extenuating factors, such as mental health, does not necessarily support a waiver request but instead may, in some situations, suggest a student-athlete should be primarily focused on addressing those critical issues during the initial transition to a third school."

     

    Mack if your so dam worried about the kid, keep him on scholarship and let him get his head straight.

    • Drool 1
  3. On 9/8/2023 at 12:24 PM, TriStone said:

    Seems like not all of you have realized how top-to-bottom lightspeed stupid these fanbases are.  The entire conference is just like aggies.  They make shit up, repeat it amongst one another, and poof, it becomes truth.

    So in other words, the football board.

    • Hook 'Em 1
  4. Love this from ESPN:

     

    https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/page/gamedayfinal090923/college-football-week-2-highlights-top-plays-games-takeaways-2023

    "For the Aggies, the loss to Miami was so decisive that Bobby Petrino likely offered to interview for Jimbo Fisher's job on the plane ride home."

     

    I am disappointed Jimbo hasn't pointed out how they beat Miami when he was calling plays.....

    • Like 1
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  5. 54 minutes ago, Hookem2147 said:

    Recruiting updates via IT. Things seem to be trending well with Baker, Lair, Black and McKinley.

      Reveal hidden contents

    Inside Texas take a closer look at a number of 2024 targets remaining in this cycle, with the latest from Kobe Black, DeAndre Carter, Dominick McKinley and more in Friday’s recruiting humidor.

    Ryan Wingo, WR, St. Louis (MO) St. Louis University 

    The 6-foot-2, 200-pound On3 Industry Ranking five-star continues to have productive conversations with the Texas staff, notably Steve Sarkisian and Chris Jackson. 

    While Wingo has a December 20th commitment date, sources indicate this could be sooner rather than later. 

    Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, and Texas A&M are in the mix, with Georgia and Michigan hanging around the rim. 

    Missouri has some momentum here, and the Horns would love to counter that, as they’ll host Wingo on September 16th for the Wyoming game. Wingo is also currently scheduled to visit Tennessee September 30. 

    Brandon Baker, OL, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei 

    Texas continues to have at least a 50-50 shot at the five-star offensive tackle from the No. 1 ranked high school team in the country. The question is who will ultimately be that team in the final two when it comes decision time. The lean is Oregon slightly over Ohio State. 

    Nebraska will take the last trip, and best shot on September 16 with an official visit for the Cornhuskers game against Northern Illinois. 

    What does Texas have going for them? Christian Jones is a senior at right tackle, the parents really like Sarkisian and Kyle Flood, and may favor them. Texas is moving to the SEC, easier travel from California to Austin vs. Columbus, Flood’s resume and development, California kids are enjoying their time at Texas, mom’s side of family is related to the Akana’s. 

    DeAndre Carter, IOL, Santa Ana (Calif.) Mater Dei

    The 6-foot-4, 340-pounder is scheduled to announce his decision on September 3. Auburn continues to be the favorite over Texas and Michigan State. He made June official visits to Auburn and Michigan State. The Tigers have pushed very hard to get this one done prior to the season getting going. 

    On the Texas side, the Horns believe they are right there in it, and have a legit shot. Of course, the visits tell a different story. Carter has been scheduled to make an official visit to Texas September 30. 

    Dominick McKinley, DL, Lafayette (La.) Acadiana 

    September 1st is getting closer. The 6-foot-5, 280-pound On3 Industry Ranking five-star is announcing his commitment at the beginning of next month. McKinley and family have taken the week off from recruiting. There has been zero communication with college coaches this week. 

    Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State, LSU and Texas A&M are the contenders. The most confidence has been on the side of Texas and Ohio State in the last couple of weeks. The Oklahoma side believes Texas is the favorite. 

    Why could Texas win out? Academic and football combination is favorable with McKinley’s mom. Driving distance from home, with a family that will be watching 2026 DL Darryus McKinley play on Friday nights for two years, while trying to get to watch Dominick on Saturday’s. McKinley plans to major in engineering. There is a scheme fit. Bo Davis and Steve Sarkisian have done a very good job in this one from start to current. 

    Kobe Black, CB, Waco (Texas) Connally 

    Even though the On3 Industry Ranking five-star insists his recruitment will go into the 2023 season, sources close to the 6-foot-2, 200-pound defensive back maintain it probably won’t. 

    Black still has visits to LSU, Alabama, and Oregon on his mind, but Texas and Texas A&M have separated from the pack in this recruitment. 

    Texas feels good here, and for good reason. Duncanville (Texas) five-star EDGE Colin Simmons has already began working on the Cen-Tex product. 

    Joshua Lair, S/Star, Missouri City (Texas) Marshall

    Lair will end up at Texas, if the Longhorns make a strong final push. Lair grew up a Texas fan of sorts, and has a strong relationship with Steve Sarkisian and Blake Gideon. Mom prefers close to home – Texas or Baylor. Washington is way too far for the family. 

     

    How can you have a 50-50 chance if there are 3 teams at the top.....

    • Hook 'Em 2
  6. Claiming we paid Simmons 5 million while talking about how he really wanted to come to LSU but his family made him go to Texas where he'll never be developed and they'll probably get him as a transfer sounds about like exactly what Aggie fans said about Bug Mountain.

  7. 15 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

    I think you nailed everything except for the part where you said the texas writers never backed off.  Nahlin said his percentage was too high.  Ears to the ground said he had to put his ear back to the ground. It wasn't until about 48 hours that this thing started to break back toward us.  Lots of times the "momentum is with such and such" is unmitigated bullshit but I don't think anyone in the Texas camp was as confident on August 1 as they were on June 26, for example.  
    Really glad we won this one.  This program is in really great shape- and we owe a debt of gratitude to some people around here who rolled up their sleeves and made it happen, as well as some other guys like Bobby and the like.  

    I never said Texas was confident.  I said Colin knew how this was going to go.  Now was it a foregone conclusion we weren't gonna step on our own dick ala Herman alienating people or something going sideways with NIL expectations?  No.

     

    As for waffling on bad news?  Nahling never got antagonistic like he did with Gipson or Gibson or however you say his name.  That's Nahling waffling.  Roach?  The guy is the very definition of deliberate and methodical.  Currently though he might be a better bet then Fong though.  Gerry and Bobby never waivered.

     

    My point though was barring a Tom Herman esque screwup, Simmons knew where he was going long before last night.

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