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Posted
9 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

Aggies claim a win over Texas when we have the higher ranked recruit at the same position

Without insider info on if he was still being recruited I would say a similar thing happened last year when Townsend committed to UT after A&M already had Armstrong. It was announced as a head to head win over A&M on Hayes Twitter post. Just a part of recruiting. I will add Townsend is ranked higher than Armstrong now but wasn't at the time.

Posted
21 minutes ago, Michael Knight said:

Aggies claim a win over Texas when we have the higher ranked recruit at the same position

Clemson really wanted him, I think, so he he could be a nice get. Clemson’s track record with DL evaluations is pretty darned good. 

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Posted
15 minutes ago, billfromlaketravis said:

Clemson really wanted him, I think, so he he could be a nice get. Clemson’s track record with DL evaluations is pretty darned good. 

Maybe, but count on aggy to botch their DL recruiting. It's been their recent strength.

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Posted

If they had some 5 star QB I'd start feeling a little jittery over the next two match ups but they could have 2001 Miami lines on steroids, I'd still feel comfortable going against Reed 

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Posted
2 hours ago, BurgleBro said:

If they had some 5 star QB I'd start feeling a little jittery over the next two match ups but they could have 2001 Miami lines on steroids, I'd still feel comfortable going against Reed 

Their class, should it hold together, would be a first step in acquiring the level of talent Texas, tOSU, and Georgia have acquired over three or four years.

Their coaching staff is not elite by any means, will they fund that, too? It would be expensive to draw established high quality coaches to that graveyard for careers.

In A&M's most formidable years, even when they dominated the SWC, they could not make themselves elite. Their covid year ranking followed up by the bestest recruiting class ever has all gone to shit. Their performance has never, by a long shot, matched their recruiting rankings as far as I know.

I guess the question I have, and I pose it to @closetojumping and anyone else with insight, is what is the big change has happened at A&M that should persuade me that they're going to rise from Texas 8&4? Elko? Facilities? Sustainable talent acquisition with top coaching staff?

I know it's been discussed before, but I humble ask for the latest opinions. Thanks.

Posted (edited)

Lol I mean, we could sit here and throw dirt on them, but hey—they’re making it happen. Will it be another Jimbo situation? Who knows. But they’re definitely recruiting at a high level, even with their mediocre past records, and they’re heading in the right direction. Honestly, that mediocre roster probably freed up more money. Gotta give credit where it’s due.

Edited by D3zii
Posted
5 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Lol I mean, we could sit here and throw dirt on them, but hey—they’re making it happen. Will it be another Jimbo situation? Who knows. But they’re definitely recruiting at a high level, even with their mediocre past records, and they’re heading in the right direction. Honestly, that mediocre roster probably freed up more money. Gotta give credit where it’s due.

Maybe give them credit when they do something on the field. They've recruited at a high level very recently and have had absolutely nothing to show for it.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, UDontKnow said:

Maybe give them credit when they do something on the field. They've recruited at a high level very recently and have had absolutely nothing to show for it.

I said that.
They’re at least  giving themselves a chance so , 

Posted
43 minutes ago, D3zii said:

Lol I mean, we could sit here and throw dirt on them, but hey—they’re making it happen. Will it be another Jimbo situation? Who knows. But they’re definitely recruiting at a high level, even with their mediocre past records, and they’re heading in the right direction. Honestly, that mediocre roster probably freed up more money. Gotta give credit where it’s due.

Carl lives!

Posted (edited)

Basically what we all need is them to struggle and hopefully lose against an APP State like team early season again.  That would allow us all up let out nuts breathe and focus our mental energies elsewhere. 

Edited by BurgleBro
Posted
Just now, BurgleBro said:

Basically what we all need is them to struggle and hopefully lose against an APP State like team early season again.  That would allow us all up let out nuts breathe and focus our mental energies elsewhere. 

It’s funnier when they start off strong then get bitch slapped down the stretch. 

Posted

They'll lose most of the road games.  ND, Texas, LSU, maybe Missouri and Arky?  IDK, I've always viewed Drinkwitz as a clown.  Could see them splitting those last two.  And they are always good to lose to somebody at home who they think they'll roll over.  Take your pick of Auburn, Florida, South Carolina this year.  Don't see an App State on the schedule, unless we have any Jeff Traylor believers in week one.  Who knows, maybe he comes out with onside kicks, fake punts, half back passes, ect., hell he did it two years ago against Texas.   All that to say it adds up to 8-4/7-5.  Same as always.

Posted
12 hours ago, UDontKnow said:

Maybe give them credit when they do something on the field. They've recruited at a high level very recently and have had absolutely nothing to show for it.

Right, have their recruits inked anything?  If not, then there's a season still for them to see what aggy development looks like. 

Posted

I guess the dynamic Mike Elko has made A&M the "it" school that all the recruits are just dying to go to. I'm sure Tamarion can't wait to show his friends in Rock Hill SC some of the cool moves that drew him to A&M.

aggie.gif

I can't believe their super not weird traditions! I love it!

Posted
On 7/6/2025 at 12:48 PM, Elmer_Fudd said:

They'll lose most of the road games.  ND, Texas, LSU, maybe Missouri and Arky?  IDK, I've always viewed Drinkwitz as a clown.  Could see them splitting those last two.  And they are always good to lose to somebody at home who they think they'll roll over.  Take your pick of Auburn, Florida, South Carolina this year.  Don't see an App State on the schedule, unless we have any Jeff Traylor believers in week one.  Who knows, maybe he comes out with onside kicks, fake punts, half back passes, ect., hell he did it two years ago against Texas.   All that to say it adds up to 8-4/7-5.  Same as always.

Like every year, we are going to overestimate the number of a&m losses. They’ll get the benefit of good schedule timing, some lucky breaks, and will end up 8-4. Here are my thoughts.

Two highly likely losses: ND and Texas. Away games against more talented teams.

One highly likely loss with caveat: LSU, unless LSU implodes. A&M benefits by having this game later in the schedule. LSU seems to be the more talented team on paper, but LSU has a rough schedule that may have their fans turn on Brian Kelly and derail the season. They open with Clemson, and half to play Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina before A&M. I could see them dropping three of those games and the team quitting. But if they survive, A&M is toast. This game is at the swamp and LSU plays Vandy the week prior.

Two possible losses: Florida and South Carolina. Not sure if the Florida hype is warranted, but both of these teams have elite QBs. A&M probably splits these.

The rest of the schedule is favorable. Missouri got crushed with a better team last year, and Arkansas never beats A&M.

8-4

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Posted (edited)
35 minutes ago, Professor Chesney said:

Like every year, we are going to overestimate the number of a&m losses. They’ll get the benefit of good schedule timing, some lucky breaks, and will end up 8-4. Here are my thoughts.

Two highly likely losses: ND and Texas. Away games against more talented teams.

One highly likely loss with caveat: LSU, unless LSU implodes. A&M benefits by having this game later in the schedule. LSU seems to be the more talented team on paper, but LSU has a rough schedule that may have their fans turn on Brian Kelly and derail the season. They open with Clemson, and half to play Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina before A&M. I could see them dropping three of those games and the team quitting. But if they survive, A&M is toast. This game is at the swamp and LSU plays Vandy the week prior.

Two possible losses: Florida and South Carolina. Not sure if the Florida hype is warranted, but both of these teams have elite QBs. A&M probably splits these.

The rest of the schedule is favorable. Missouri got crushed with a better team last year, and Arkansas never beats A&M.

8-4

Ah, yes, ATM Football - The Road Warriors

ATM is 2-10 over the last 3 years on the road. They have to play 5 true road games for the first time in 5 years. They won 2 road games last year - at a hapless Florida and at hapless Mississippi State. 

Missouri isn't a shitty team. They were a paper tiger last year and they'll be similar this year, but they'll go to a bowl and they play far better at home than on the road. They have a good QB with mobility in Pribula (transfer from Penn State), they stole an excellent WR from MSU, and they swiped a terrific young back in Hardy from LaMonroe. They melted down off of a terrible referee call last year and Burden literally quit on the team, had a dramatic fit on the sidelines, and they fell apart. That going to happen again, at home?

@LSU, probably at night with all of the drunk cajuns, is not going to be close. 

@Arkansas? Sure, Arkansas got raided in the portal and has little help around the QB. 

Auburn at home is no gimme. Auburn has a great WR corps, they're going to be excellent in the trenches on both sides of the ball as they return the entire starting OL, and Jackson Arnold has a new change of scenery and some talent. 

Texas A&M went 8-5 last year, losing 4 of their last 5. They went 7-6 the year before and 5-7 before that. All 3 of those rosters had more talent than the roster ATM is fielding this year, against a more difficult schedule.

You guys that come on here and whine that this board always oversells the losses on the ATM schedule are frozen in some sort of lazy time warp from 2021. 

Edited by closetojumping
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Posted
1 hour ago, Professor Chesney said:

Like every year, we are going to overestimate the number of a&m losses. They’ll get the benefit of good schedule timing, some lucky breaks, and will end up 8-4. Here are my thoughts.

Two highly likely losses: ND and Texas. Away games against more talented teams.

One highly likely loss with caveat: LSU, unless LSU implodes. A&M benefits by having this game later in the schedule. LSU seems to be the more talented team on paper, but LSU has a rough schedule that may have their fans turn on Brian Kelly and derail the season. They open with Clemson, and half to play Florida, Ole Miss and South Carolina before A&M. I could see them dropping three of those games and the team quitting. But if they survive, A&M is toast. This game is at the swamp and LSU plays Vandy the week prior.

Two possible losses: Florida and South Carolina. Not sure if the Florida hype is warranted, but both of these teams have elite QBs. A&M probably splits these.

The rest of the schedule is favorable. Missouri got crushed with a better team last year, and Arkansas never beats A&M.

8-4

You replied to a guy saying they'll likely go 8-4 and then conclude that they will go 8-4. 

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Posted
51 minutes ago, closetojumping said:

Texas A&M went 8-5 last year, losing 4 of their last 5. They went 7-6 the year before and 5-7 before that. All 3 of those rosters had more talent than the roster ATM is fielding this year, against a more difficult schedule.

You guys that come on here and whine that this board always oversells the losses on the ATM schedule are frozen in some sort of lazy time warp from 2021. 

I’m not going to dispute the laziness of my take that “it’s always been this way so it will be this way next season.” But for A&M there always seems to be some aspect of the program that performs above our expectations. For example, their O Line last year should have been abysmal, with some (including me) expecting Strong 2014 levels of ineptitude. But somehow it played better than the sum of its parts and exceeded expectations, particularly with decent run blocking bolstered by QB run threat. I don’t know how much my analysis of A&M is tainted by a subconscious desire to see a hilarious meltdown, so I try to counteract that.

1 hour ago, closetojumping said:

 

Missouri isn't a shitty team. They were a paper tiger last year and they'll be similar this year, but they'll go to a bowl and they play far better at home than on the road. They have a good QB with mobility in Pribula (transfer from Penn State), they stole an excellent WR from MSU, and they swiped a terrific young back in Hardy from LaMonroe. They melted down off of a terrible referee call last year and Burden literally quit on the team, had a dramatic fit on the sidelines, and they fell apart. That going to happen again, at home?

Auburn at home is no gimme. Auburn has a great WR corps, they're going to be excellent in the trenches on both sides of the ball as they return the entire starting OL, and Jackson Arnold has a new change of scenery and some talent. 

 

You’re right, I did not realize the talent level at Auburn. 

Missouri I still don’t buy. Penn St fans didn’t seem to have too much angst about Pribula leaving, and he’d really have to develop as a passer in order to unlock that offense.

To be fair to Missouri, they did get Connor Weigman’s one good game last season, which was a massive performance outlier. And now Elko won’t be able to engage starting QB chicanery to force teams to work on multiple defensive game plans.

Posted
18 minutes ago, Professor Chesney said:

I’m not going to dispute the laziness of my take that “it’s always been this way so it will be this way next season.” But for A&M there always seems to be some aspect of the program that performs above our expectations. For example, their O Line last year should have been abysmal, with some (including me) expecting Strong 2014 levels of ineptitude. But somehow it played better than the sum of its parts and exceeded expectations, particularly with decent run blocking bolstered by QB run threat. I don’t know how much my analysis of A&M is tainted by a subconscious desire to see a hilarious meltdown, so I try to counteract that.

You’re right, I did not realize the talent level at Auburn. 

Missouri I still don’t buy. Penn St fans didn’t seem to have too much angst about Pribula leaving, and he’d really have to develop as a passer in order to unlock that offense.

To be fair to Missouri, they did get Connor Weigman’s one good game last season, which was a massive performance outlier. And now Elko won’t be able to engage starting QB chicanery to force teams to work on multiple defensive game plans.

I think I am going to start an ATM 2025 football season thread on the football board in a similar manner to what I posted for OU. The current cycle recruiting thread doesn't make great sense for such and then the meta thread on the football board isn't great for that either. I say this because it's a pain in the ass to go back and find what we were saying about them before last season, much less the seasons before that one. 

Penn State had a public conniption fit about Pribula leaving during the playoffs. You can google that. Some of it was about the current state of being the middle of the playoffs, some of it was about not wanting to lose Pribula's talent. Missouri does a good job of evaluating talent and managing the portal. They scouted and chose Pribula. So, they like him. 

I assume Missouri goes something like 8-5 or 9-4 because they're not great and they have an easy schedule. I also assume they're good enough to beat ATM on the road, given that I think ATM is mediocre team this year and they're pussies on the road, historically and lately.

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Posted
On 8/5/2024 at 12:25 PM, Professor Chesney said:

Everything seems to be going in A&M’s favor to get the rollercoaster started with a win over Notre Dame.  Early in the season so the team is healthy and Weigman is concussion-free.  Home game advantage.  Notre Dame overrated at 6th in the coaches poll, as is tradition at this point.

Curious what folks think about the matchup because it looks to me like advantage aggy.  I don’t have the same faith in A&M’s OL that the media does, but don’t think that ND has the front seven to take advantage, and the entire team will be healthy and bought in this early in the season.

Maybe it boils down to whether you believe Riley Leonard will be a first round pick, but Elko knows exactly how to attack him and A&M has the DL talent to make it happen.  

 

 

On 8/5/2024 at 12:48 PM, closetojumping said:

I know I've posted on ND 2024 on the boards, but you asked, so here are one guy's thoughts about ND, their ranking, and ATM. 

Notre Dame has NFL guys all over their defense. It's the strength of the team, they return 8 starters plus a 3 year starter transfer. They have an All American NG in Howard Cross, an AA candidate at LB in Jack Kiser, and a 1st AA in Xavier Watts at S. They have a high returning CB who will play in the NFL. They're going to be really good on defense and Freeman knows how to handle that side of the ball. 

On offense, they bring Riley Leonard, who is quite good if he's healthy. This will be the opening game, so you have to like the odds of Leonard opening the game at full speed, same as Weigatron. They actually have sure-handed talent that won't scare anyone at WR and the typical ND TE in Mitchell Evans. They lost both tackles to the NFL and this will be a source of focus heading into the season, although ND knows what they're doing with OL development.

ND's ranking, outside of halo effect, is also a by-product of one of the weakest P4 schedules in the entire country. The ATM game, along with USC and FSU games, is a must-win game. For ND to get into the playoffs this year, they're not going to be able to lean on the depth of their schedule. They're going to have to be able to lean on being 11-1/12-0 and they could do that. So the ATM game is pretty fucking important for them and they're going to know that. 

As far as the match-up, the biggest part of it is probably coaching. Freeman is a proven buffoon when it comes to in-game coaching. The Elk's HC prowess is buoyed by one of the more laughable schedules ever in 2022 in which Duke went 9-4 while never playing a ranked team. Last year, tubby went 1-4 against ranked opponents with the season opener against Clemson being the big win. Can this guy actually win big as a HC? There is no evidence for that yet. 

ATM's front 7 against the ND OL and TE will be in ATM's advantage. Leonard and the WRs against the ATM secondary could be an actual strength for ND. ND's front seven against the ATM OL is the most brutal match-up in the game. ND's secondary also being really fucking good doesn't help.

Finishing up making a short story really long, you guys that are starting to/itching to predict an ATM victory over ND aren't looking at the actual rosters and match-up and falling prey to media sloth regarding ATM's talent levels and the myth of some major home field advantage for the aggies. 

ATM stands a terrific chance of opening the season 1-2 after losing to ND and @ Florida.

 

On 8/29/2024 at 3:37 PM, bizzle said:

i am going to begin with the words of the brilliant and gifted spencer hall, who everyone should subscribe to:

TLDR: i have no idea. i think we go 9-3 because elko is a smart guy and the floor is significantly raised, i think this roster has more talent on it than people realize, and i am first and foremost a fan, which means i am willfully, blindly optimistic about collin klein, even though the jury is very much out. 

speaking of collin klein, i think he is clearly the biggest delta of this whole ordeal. there are those that think he is running bill snyder's 2004 greatest hits, and those who view him as one of the brighter young offensive minds in college football. he is about to be running an offense in the most difficult defensive conference in america with a decided lack of playmakers*, speed or highly ranked players at the skill positions and a qb who threw 119 passes last season. let's fucking go. (*holding out hope for noah thomas).

qb: weigman is whatever you want him to be right now. great pedigree, decently natural thrower of the ball, reasonably accurate and pretty tough when not getting rolled up on. can he stay healthy behind the ol, and how often does klein feel like he needs to run him as an easy button? tons of upside here and in the current world of college football, great depth with marcel reed and jaylen henderson.

ol: i think history will judge me gently when i went all in on steve addazio being recommitted to football. last year was so absurd that between scheme and talent this group will surprise and be mediocre. trey zuhn is a passable left tackle another year removed from the knee injury, coaches love bisontis at guard, nabou or faaiu should be an improvement on bryce foster falling down at center and contrary to ctj's desire for reed-adams to be a jayhawk casualty, the guy is a very competent guard. i do not for the life of me understand what has happened to ruben fatheree and the fact that crownover may be starting is concerning. g-c-g should be solid, rt cannot be a turnstile. another place klein should be helpful is not calling for these guys to hold blocks for 7 seconds each passing play. 

rb: leveon moss is a talented guy. needs to stay healthy because behind him is amari daniels, who was really fast his sophomore year of high school 40 pounds ago, and ej smith, who does all the little things right except gain yards when handed the football. maybe bussey gets some snaps, whatever. this room goes as moss' health goes. 

wr: yikes. i really like noah thomas and there is potentially something there. other than that . . . jahdae walker reminds me of the juco guys i got excited about circa 2001, jacob bostick couldn't get on the field in the worst college offense of all time, moose muhammaed will have 12 catches for 171 yards against lsu after not playing for 6 weeks, and cyrus allen and micah tease are supposedly very fast and can't catch. jabre barber will be useful if he returns from injury. evan stewart is going to win the biletnikoff and i'm going to cut myself.

te: they're pretty big and can block and kind of slow. coaches really like tre watson, we'll see. donovan green looks like a shell of his freshman self, needs another few months to heal, supposedly the swedish guy is coming along, will be interesting to see how much 12 and 13 personnel gets run here.

i'm as bullish defensively as i am skeptical on offense, i think mike elko is a really, really solid defensive coach and if he's calling your defense, you're going to be sound, a pain in the ass in the red zone, and make the qb's life annoying. 

dl: there is still a ton of talent here and should be far better not doing whatever the fuck dj durkin reverted to. nic scourton is getting hyped by people not usually prone to hype, shemar stewart looks great, there are six reasonably athletic defensive tackles assuming brownlow-diddy really exists and i think the biggest difference between the jimbo/elko groups and this year is the ability for cashius howell, malick sylla, etc to be used off the edge - those pieces didn't exist for him last time. this should be a very fun, very productive group.

lb: taurean york is a very solid college lb. can we find another 1.5 alongside him? have to make this work somehow. if york goes down it's not good times. shout out anthony hill, you big jerk.

cb: along with klein, i think the other biggest determinant to the year - one can squint and see a rotation of tyreek chappel, bj mayes, will lee, dez ricks and see a jump in both talent and production from last year. maybe bravion rodgers and jayvon thomas make a 2nd year jump. maybe riley leonard throws for 350 yards saturday. crazy low floor, pretty high ceiling, what could go wrong.

s: this is an underrated room. bryce anderson and dalton brooks are going to be a very good duo, and capable of covering far more ground than any of the thumpers rolled out there the last few years. good depth as well. some fun depth options if elko wants to get creative. 

st: we have a good punter again. hopefully bussey is ready for the spotlight at returner. please get moose the fuck out of there. 

this team is going to crush unders, sit on people from the defensive side, not allow anything over the top and generally play some rc slocum style football. in this era of football, can this group of skill position talent score enough in those games you have to have 28, 31, 34. who knows! fuck nd.

 

From last year's recruiting thread. @bizzle had them at 9-3. It reads like most of us were thinking in the 7-5/8-4 range but a lot you guys were convincing yourselves of ATM beating ND to open the season. 

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