Over the course of the next seven weeks, the SoBros Network will be going team-by-team through the SEC, previewing the 2018 American tackle football season. Up first, the Texas A&M Aggies!
Texas A&M 2018 Preview
The big story coming out of Texas A&M this offseason was the exit of Kevin Sumlin and the addition of former Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher.
Fisher has an interesting quarterback battle to sort out between sophomores Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel. Most analysts expect Starkel to win that battle, and on paper at least, he definitely looks like the more reliable option. But, with an exceptional play-maker at the running back position, Trayveon Williams, expect Fisher to lean on the rushing attack in his first season.
On defense, the Aggies should have a solid defense line on a unit that led the SEC in sacks a season ago. They just need to figure out how to stop big plays better. Last year, they were ranked #87 in scoring defense. That’s not what you want out of a defense in the SEC.
Expectations are fairly low for Fisher’s first year, but the talented Aggies aren’t that far away from contending. If they can limit the big play on defense and control possession on offense, they could sneak up on a few teams this year.
2018 Aggies Schedule
Thursday, 8/30: Northwestern State Demons – For all intents and purposes, this is a preseason game for the Aggies. If they lose this one, they’re in trouble.
Saturday, 9/8: Clemson Tigers – Good thing they have that tuneup on 8/30, because things get real serious real quick on this schedule. The Tigers come to College Station for a marquee match-up. Dabo Swinney has turned that Clemson program into a perennial National Championship contender. I expect this one to be a loss for the Aggies, but if they can pull the upset, it could swing their entire season.
Saturday, 9/15: Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks – The Aggies will need to catch their breath after playing Clemson and before playing Alabama. They get that against ULM.
Saturday, 9/22: @ Alabama Crimson Tide – Playing Clemson and Alabama in a matter of three weeks is brutal. Not sure how that came to be, but here we are. The Aggies should start the season 2-2.
Saturday, 9/29: Arkansas Razorbacks – For me, this is where the interesting part of A&M’s schedule commences. The next four games will be critical. You can pencil three wins in for sure. But over the course of these following four games, that’s where the Aggies will earn their bowl bid. They should beat the Razorbacks, but if Chad Morris can get that up-tempo offense installed and if A&M hasn’t done the work to prevent big plays on defense, it could be a bit of trap game.
Saturday, 10/6: Kentucky Wildcats – Another game the Aggies should win. But, some people expect this to be Mark Stoops’ best Kentucky team yet. If that’s the case, this could be a tough one for Texas A&M.
Saturday, 10/13: @ South Carolina Gamecocks – I don’t expect the Aggies to win this one. With Jake Bentley at quarterback and the home advantage, I expect South Carolina to take it.
Saturday, 10/20: BYE WEEK
Saturday, 10/27: @ Mississippi State Bulldogs – Everyone’s picking the Bulldogs as their dark horse SEC contender. But, I think it’s a little too soon. Long term? Maybe, but A&M is closer to them than people want to willingly admit.
Saturday, 11/3: @ Auburn – The Tigers are going to be good. Much like the Clemson and Alabama games, I figure this is pretty well an automatic loss unless the Aggies are a major surprise this season.
Saturday, 11/10: Ole Miss Rebels – Ole Miss is going to be an interesting team to watch, not so different from Texas A&M, but for different reasons. Ultimately, I like the Rebels offense led by Jordan Ta’amu in this one.
Saturday, 11/17: UAB Blazers – A late season win, one of the three wins I alluded to earlier.
Saturday, 11/24: LSU Tigers – This is going to be an interesting game – LSU should be the more talented team, but it all depends on how Coach O manages this team. A lot of folks expect he’ll be out of Baton Rouge by season’s end, and if that’s the case, a loss to the Aggies just might do it. This one’s a veritable toss-up to me.
Prediction
This is a bowl team. It’s not hard to find six wins on that schedule. They get definite wins over Northwestern State, ULM, and UAB. I think the advantage of getting Arkansas and Kentucky at home gets them wins there, too. So, that means they need to win one of either Mississippi State, Ole Miss, or LSU. I don’t think they get all three, but they reasonably could. They only need one, though, and I think they get it against LSU in the last game of the season. This team ought to sneak into the Liberty Bowl or the Birgminham Bowl, but if they reach their ceiling, they’ll likely get the call to the Texas Bowl.
Other 2018 SEC Previews
Alabama Crimson Tide
Arkansas Razorbacks
Auburn Tigers
Florida Gators
Georgia Bulldogs
Kentucky Wildcats
LSU Tigers
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Missouri Tigers
Ole Miss Rebels
South Carolina Gamecocks
Tennessee Volunteers
Texas A&M Aggies
Vanderbilt Commodores
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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