Are The Aggies Overrated? One Major Outlet Thinks So
Jimbo Fisher's Texas A&M Aggies have arguably the highest expectations they have ever faced heading into the 2021 season, and for good reason.
The Aggies finished last season 9-1, barely missing out on the college football playoffs, and return 15 starters, including nine on a defense that was already one of the best in college football.
More than that, the Aggies momentum is clear, with the team ending their stellar 2020 campaign with a 41-27 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels -- one of the nation's cinderella darlings going into the new season.
However, despite their 2020 finish, and returning arguably the most experienced roster in the SEC, one national outlet believes the Aggies No. 7 ranking in the most recent USA Today Coaches Poll might be a bit too high.
Per Barrett Sallee of CBS Sports:
Look, I get it. Texas A&M was in the College Football Playoff mix all the way up to the final release of the rankings last winter. That has given Aggie fans around the country a false sense of hope that this is the year they break through the glass ceiling and make the CFP. That isn't going to happen. The No. 6 ranking ignores that coach Jimbo Fisher is breaking in a new quarterback -- Haynes King or Zach Calzada -- who hasn't taken a single meaningful snap in FBS football. That matters, especially in a system that demands a lot from its signal-caller. What's more, the Aggies are breaking in four new starters on the offensive line. Granted, the one returning starter, All-American left tackle Kenyon Green, is a monster, but he's only one man. This unit will be charged with not only protecting the quarterback, but making critical checks at the line of scrimmage in order to protect said quarterback. The coaches seem to think that the Aggies are the top contender to Alabama in the SEC West. I disagree (more on that below).
To his credit, Sallee makes a fair argument here, particularly on the quarterback front -- a position that can make or break any season before it even begins.
The offensive line for the Aggies is also a major question mark, and deservedly so, with such significant turnover from last season.
With that said, the Aggies are loaded at the skill positions. So much so, that whoever does win the quarterback job, should have plenty of help no matter the situation.
Not to mention, the returning bodies on the other side of the ball give them what could potentially be the best defensive unit in the entire country.
One way or another, we will find out if USA Today is right soon enough when the Aggies kick off the season at home against Kent State on September 4.
The Aggies will also face tough early-season tests against Colorado in Boulder and Arkansas in Arlington, before matching up with Alabama at the midway point of the season -- giving us perhaps our first true barometer for the Aggies' progress.
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