Texas A&M football is 33 days away, and in the days leading up to the Aggie opener we’re answering the 50 biggest questions for the 2018 season.
Nobody has a tougher month of September than the Texas A&M football team. They have Clemson at home in the second week of the season, travel to Alabama to take on the defending national champions in Week 4, and follow that up with a neutral site game against Arkansas.
Winning at Bryant-Denny Stadium is no easy task. Other than in his inaugural season, Nick Saban has lost just five times at home since 2008. You might remember one of those.
So the big question is, can the Aggies go into Tuscaloosa and win in Jimbo Fisher’s fourth game as the head coach?
The short answer is: not likely.
As much of a difference that Fisher makes from the previous regime, the defending national champions are that for a reason. They are an elite unit and have been one for the last 10 years with Nick Saban as their head coach. Their home results in that decade speak for themselves.
Having said all of that, A&M might match up the best against Alabama when you compare them to the other elite teams they will face this year. The Tide return only two players who started more than half the season on defense last year, but they return a ton of talent on offense.
It will be strength vs. strength and (perceived) weakness vs. weakness, as the Aggies’ defense returns many of their best players and will most likely be the better of the two units. The big weakness for Texas A&M could be their offensive line, but they have a chance to overcome that with the inexperience of Alabama’s defense.
There are some similarities between the 2012 team that upset the Tide on the road with Johnny Football: New head coach with new offensive scheme; quarterback battle in offseason practices; lots of returning experience from the previous season.
Look, Alabama will be heavily favored and should be. As much as they have turnover in some years, they recruit at an elite level every single year and obviously coach at an elite level. They almost always have someone waiting to take over when players head to the NFL.
But the fact that this game is early in the season, the Aggies have a new head coach that could breathe life into the roster, and that Alabama has several new faces on defense means it could be upset special for the Aggies.
Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.