Texas A&M
2012 Record: 11-2 (6-2) def
Oklahoma in Cotton Bowl: 41-13
2012 Recap:
You would have to forgive Aggie Nation for believing things
could have been different last season if not for a hurricane. A&M was supposed to open their first
season as a member of the SEC against Louisiana Tech on August 30, but
hurricane Isaac caused the game to be delayed until October 13th, a
scheduled bye week.
The postponement meant that A&M opened their season at
home against Florida in their first SEC game.
A&M played well, but came up short against the Gators losing
20-17. When the Louisiana Tech game was
rescheduled, A&M had to hold on to win the game in a shoot out 59-57. Instead of having their scheduled bye week
before the LSU game, the Aggies played host to the Tigers with no extra rest
and again came up just short, 24-19.
We all know that A&M went on to beat Alabama in
Tuscaloosa later in the season on their way to a huge victory over former Big
12 foe, Oklahoma. Not a bad first season
in the nation’s premiere conference.
Without the postponement in week 1, you never know what
could have been for the 2012 Aggies.
The Schedule:
A&M drew a pretty favorable conference schedule in
2013. The Aggies will play Vanderbilt
out of the SEC East as well as their “natural rival” Missouri. After winning in Tuscaloosa last season, the
Aggies host the Tide in one of the most anticipated games of the season in
early September. Their toughest road games come against Ole Miss and LSU. Their non-conference schedule features almost
every college football team from the state of Texas, other than the University
of Texas. The Aggies will host Rice, Sam
Houston State, SMU, and UTEP giving them 8 home games in 2013. (Insert joke about SEC scheduling here)
Key Returner:
Johnny Manziel: This is what happens when you write a
preview too early. I had a nice breakdown of Manziel from last year and what we
might see in 2013, but that was before Johnny complained about signing
autographs in ESPN the Magazine only to find out that he might have accepted money
for signing autographs. Manziel will be
the biggest returner for any team in the country, if he returns. The cloud of an NCAA investigation is hanging
over A&M, and there is no timetable for a decision from the NCAA. Some
believe that Manziel will be benched by A&M until he is cleared by the NCAA
for fear of having to vacate wins if he plays.
On the field, if he makes it back to the field, Manziel will
have the daunting task of repeating what can only be described as the greatest
freshman season in college football since Herschel Walker in 1980. Manziel broke record after record in
2012. In 2013, Manziel might have to be
better, but not put up the same type of numbers he did last year for the Aggies
to meet expectations. A&M will be a
Top 10 team in the preseason and many Aggie fans believe that the A&M game
against Alabama in early September is a defacto national title game.
It seems impossible to think that Manziel can top his 2012
season, but if he can manage to lead A&M to the SEC title game, then he
might have a chance. The biggest thing
standing in the way, or not standing in the way, as it were is ….
Key Loss:
Luke Joeckel: The Aggies will have to figure out how to
protect their prized possession without the help of Joeckel who was the number
two pick in the NFL Draft. Joeckel won
the Outland trophy in 2012 as the nation’s top lineman. Obviously, the Aggies will put someone at
left tackle this fall, but with Manziel wanting to be more of a pocket passer,
it might be hard for him to stay in the pocket with a new anchor on the
offensive line. The Aggies will have two
weeks to figure out how to protect Manziel before Nick Saban brings his Alabama
defense to Kyle Field on September 14th.
Success will be:
Winning the SEC and playing for a national title. Fair or not, this is what is expected of the
Aggies in 2013. It only took one year
for Aggie Nation to adopt the ridiculously high standards of the SEC. With the bar set so high, success is almost
unattainable.
2013 Prediction:
How can you predict the 2013 season for A&M without
knowing if Manziel is going to be on the field? Well there are two things that
can happen, so we will predict both!
If Manziel plays: A&M will have a great season, but they
won’t beat Alabama and they won’t play for the SEC title, and they won’t win
the National Title, so A&M fans will feel like they just went 2-10. As good
as Johnny is, football is the ultimate team sport, and as a team, A&M doesn't
have the talent to compete in the SEC yet. No one is unstoppable. Teams will
slow Manziel down, and when they do, what will A&M be able to do? I don’t
know the answer to that question, and I’m not sure Kevin Sumlin does either.
Nothing wrong about going 10-2 in the SEC, but calling A&M a title
contender is just too premature.
If Manziel doesn’t play: A&M will have a lost season.
Making a bowl game will be difficult without Manziel because so much of what
they do is centered on him. Not to mention the mental toll it would take on the
team to lose their Heisman Trophy winning quarterback just before the season
begins.
So if you are an A&M fan, you are going to be
disappointed either way. It remains to be seen how disappointed you will be.
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