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Aggies a 'Surprise' This Past Season? Maybe Not the Good Kind

The Texas A&M Aggies have renewed their age-old rivalry with Paul Finebaum.
Zach Dimmitt|
Aggies a 'Surprise' This Past Season? Maybe Not the Good Kind
Aggies a 'Surprise' This Past Season? Maybe Not the Good Kind

Usually when a team is called a "surprise," it means they over-exceeded expectations and took everyone by storm.

Not often is it used the other way. But that's exactly how ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum sees it as it relates to the Texas A&M Aggies.

“I will go with Texas A&M," Finebaum told Rutgers Wire. "They started the season No. 6 in the country. One pundit on game day, Desmond Howard, picked them to make the final four and win the national championship."

After finishing the season with a 5-7 record, a label better suited for Finebaum toward the Aggies might be "disappointment," especially considering how often he has understandably criticized them and coach Jimbo Fisher.

Stack up all the wrong expectations and predictions, and the Aggies certainly delivered surprises and shock value in the worst of ways.

"It was shocking to me that a coach that as well regarded as Jimbo Fisher – who made as much noise in the offseason as he did and who was just 10 months away from the best recruiting class I’ve ever seen," Finebaum said.

The one good surprise for the Aggies? Beating a College Football Playoff-level team in the final week of the season, as A&M took down the then-No. 5 LSU Tigers in a 38-23 upset in College Station.

“(Fisher) softened some of the wound on the final day with LSU. But not all of it," Finebaum said. "And I think he’s in a very critical position next year. Is the sixth year to get it done.”

The Aggies may not hear the end of Finebaum's tirade all off-season. But whether they listen to the noise or not, there's nowhere to go but up. 

You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

Zach Dimmitt is the Deputy Editor for Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He also contributes as a writer for the On SI channels of the Oregon Ducks, Baltimore Ravens and Tennessee Titans. He was previously the editor-in-chief of Buffalo Bills on SI, Philadelphia Eagles on SI and Seattle Seahawks on SI. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Dimmitt received his Bachelor’s Degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin in 2022. He originally started with SI’s Fan Nation network in 2021, providing extensive coverage of the NFL and NBA along with college football and basketball. In that time, Dimmitt has published thousands of stories and has reached millions of people across multiple fan bases. You can follow him on X at @ZachDimmitt7

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