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14 minutes ago, Chopper said:

But Haynes King didn't have any INTs today. He improved from Week 1!!

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Of course he didn’t have any INTs today. When you’ve got a National Championship winning head coach, who’s also a QB whisperer……. You come to expect progression such as this. Why do you think they gave him an extension? Coaches like that don’t grow  on trees. You gotta lock those types up

Edited by The Deuce
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Sam Khan on The Athletic not pulling many punches

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Khan: Texas A&M’s advantages meant nothing vs. App State, and loss is on Jimbo Fisher

Sep 10, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Haynes King (13) passes against the rush of Appalachian State Mountaineers linebacker Nick Hampton (9) in the second quarter  at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports
By Sam Khan Jr.
1h ago

23


In the past four recruiting cycles, Appalachian State has signed zero four- or five-star recruits out of high school and none of its signing classes ranked higher than 73rd nationally, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Texas A&M signed more five-star recruits in its 2022 class (eight) than App State has signed top-1,000 players (six) in the past four classes. Every A&M signing class the past four years has ranked eighth or higher, including this year’s top-ranked group, the highest rated in the modern recruiting era.

A&M’s athletic department generated more than five times the revenue of App State’s in 2021, and the Aggies’ head coach, Jimbo Fisher, makes almost 10 times as much annually as the Mountaineers’ Shawn Clark.

But the Aggies’ massive talent and resource advantage mattered none Saturday when Clark’s crew waltzed into Kyle Field and stunned the No. 6 Aggies 17-14. It was a banner moment for the Mountaineers, who are no strangers to stunning road upsets (See: 2007 at No. 5 Michigan) or success. They’ve had five double-digit win seasons in the past seven years with three different head coaches.

And it is undoubtedly a low point in Fisher’s A&M career, marking the program’s first loss to a Group of 5 program since Aug. 30, 2008.

“We did not execute and play at the level we needed to,” Fisher said. “That’s my fault. As the head football coach, that’s your job to have your guys ready to play.”

 

Fingers will be pointed across the board. Some will be at quarterback play, with third-year sophomore Haynes King failing to crack 100 passing yards. Others will be directed at the offensive line, which didn’t dominate the way that’s expected with a group as deep and talented as A&M’s.

Turnovers were a critical factor, as two of them turned into 14 App State points. The A&M defense — which was left out on the field for 41 minutes, 29 seconds Saturday while the Aggie offense recorded only 38 snaps — had its challenges, too.

But the result falls on Fisher.

The Aggies had plenty of reasons to be on high alert. They showed flaws in their season-opening win over soon-to-be-FBS squad Sam Houston. Some of the same issues, from O-line play to ball security, popped up then. App State arrived fresh off a 61-point output in its Week 1 loss to North Carolina. The Mountaineers have a veteran quarterback, Chase Brice, who spent his first three college seasons at Clemson and pulled out a heart-stopping win before, surviving Syracuse’s 2018 upset bid.

Instead of showing progress from their season-opening mishaps, the Aggies continually stubbed their toe. The Mountaineers played the methodical, grind-it-out style that Fisher has ridden to many an A&M victory better than the Aggies did, chugging out 305 yards on 80 snaps with no turnovers while A&M looked sloppy.

North Carolina put 567 yards and 56 offensive points on App State a week ago. The A&M offense could manage only 186 yards and seven points, with the rest coming via special teams.

“That’s coaching on our part,” Fisher said.

The shocking result probably tables any discussion of College Football Playoff contention this season. The Aggies’ schedule made the path tough enough, with No. 15 Miami visiting in Week 3, a road trip to No. 1 Alabama on Oct. 8 and a six-week midseason stretch between home games.

But even if A&M didn’t make a real run at the Playoff, the 2022 season was supposed to be about progress. Perhaps a 10-2 year before setting the table for a real run at the Playoff in 2023, when the schedule is more favorable.

Instead, Aggie faithful are left wondering if they’re staring down another 8-4 season.

Injuries and errant bounces happen, but when a program has signed 73 four- and five-star recruits over a four-year period and has every facility and resource advantage available, those excuses ring hollow on a day like this, especially if a program expects to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Alabama and Georgia. Yes, the Aggies missed several key players Saturday, but they should have enough depth to withstand that against App State.

When asked of a possible quarterback change, Fisher didn’t rule it out.

“We’ll evaluate everything,” he said.

If Fisher does make a change, LSU transfer Max Johnson and five-star freshman Conner Weigman are his next options.

The season isn’t completely lost. If the Aggies were to beat the Hurricanes next week, it could turn things around. The Aggies looked listless a year ago in losses to Arkansas and Mississippi State before doing the unthinkable and upsetting Alabama. The entire SEC schedule still remains, though it appears much more daunting now than it did Saturday morning.

“It’s time to come together,” Fisher said. “Right now’s the time to get back to fundamentals and believe in each other. … You’ve got to put it behind you. You can’t let one loss become two.”

This is Year 5 for Fisher in Aggieland. Everything he’s asked for, he’s received, from massive contracts to facilities upgrades to increased support staff. King is his hand-picked quarterback, in the third year of Fisher’s offense, which Fisher still calls himself. There’s elite talent surrounding King, from running back Devon Achane, who was one of the few bright spots of A&M’s loss, to five-star freshman receiver Evan Stewart. The defense is loaded, too.

Yet 50 games into his A&M tenure, Fisher’s record (35-15) is no better than that of his predecessor, Kevin Sumlin, at the same point (36-14).

In fairness to Fisher, the trajectory of the program — at least until Saturday — appeared different. Recruiting hit a crescendo in the most recent cycle, and coming into the year, A&M looked as if it was building toward years of SEC title and Playoff contention based on sheer talent alone. Sumlin’s tenure peaked early behind two seasons with quarterback Johnny Manziel, then after a step backward post-Johnny Football, plateaued until Sumlin’s dismissal following 2017.

To date, Fisher’s best season is 2020, when the Aggies went 9-1 playing a pandemic-shortened all-SEC regular-season schedule and missed the Playoff by a hair. Fans had hoped the team might make a similar run this year, but that seems like a long shot now.

Fisher should be held to a national championship standard. The school hired him away from Florida State with a 10-year, $75 million deal largely because he’s one of only five active coaches who holds a title ring. He got a raise to $9 million a year and is guaranteed more than $90 million over the next 10 years. The school announced this summer that the team will get a new indoor football facility, upgrades to the Bright Football Complex and have access to a new academic and wellness center, part of an effort that, along with track upgrades, has a nine-figure price tag.

Everything is in place, all that’s left to do is win. But Saturday’s loss signaled the Aggies may have further to go than we think.

 

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Jumbo’s post-game press conference is fun. Two things stand out: 

“I take full responsibility,” then goes on to throw everyone under the bus. 

He does the old, “I’ll give you a pointless synopsis of the game,” like we need him to tell us what happened on key possessions. We all watched it too, you moron. He probably does this just to reduce time for actual analysis and the dreaded questions. Enjoy! 

 

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8 hours ago, The Deuce said:

Of course he didn’t have any INTs today. When you’ve got a National Championship winning head coach, who’s also a QB whisperer……. You come to expect progression such as this. Why do you think they gave him an extension? Coaches like that don’t grow  on trees. You gotta lock those types up

Jimbo was probably born under a Bonsai tree.

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Some aggies on r/cfb are trying to spin this as “App St won’t lose another game the rest of the season, so this is a quality loss.” They’ll convince themselves that their goals for the season are still on the table since they haven’t lost an SEC game yet and the rollercoaster will reset. It’s a tale as old as time.

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Cross posted on the Jimbo. recruiting thread also.  From ESPN.com this morning.

 

“On the other end of the Mountaineers' 17-14 win Saturday was No. 6 Texas A&M, which was kind enough to upend its fans' expectations in Week 2 rather than waiting until October to do it. The Aggies managed just 186 total yards and one offensive touchdown.

A&M paid App State $1.5 million to come to College Station. Add that to the $9 million Jimbo Fisher is being paid not to develop a quarterback, and that's a lot of cash without much return on investment. Aggies boosters are going to have to think twice before ordering the 82-ounce ribeye at breakfast Sunday.

For years, Fisher was viewed as a quarterback whisperer, putting three straight into the first round of the NFL draft during his Florida Statetenure. But since Jameis Winston left after the 2014 season, it's been rough. No Fisher QB in that span has completed 60% of his passes and thrown more than 20 TDs in a season. For reference, 36 different QBs did that last season, including his current backup, Max Johnson, who transferred from LSU.”

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6 minutes ago, WBT said:

No, this is the "early setback" right on schedule

That wasn't a setback. That was a full on collision right into a granite wall. After all the money the university spent on players and coaching that stupid extension is the only reason Jimbo's seat isn't about to hit nuclear reactor levels of hot like Scott Frost's. 

This is new territory for aggy. They've gone from October fall off the cliff once they play legit teams to losing to the paid cupcake in September. 

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