Looking back at Texas A&M football’s schedule, one could definitely make the argument they would have won more games in another conference.
The first Texas A&M football season under head coach Jimbo Fisher was full of ups and downs. The roller coaster season cliché absolutely applied.
From a close, competitive two-point loss to the eventual National Champion Clemson Tigers, to a blowout loss to Alabama, to a three-game win streak, then two disappointing losses to Mississippi State and Auburn, and finishing the season on a four-game win streak including a win over LSU, it was all Aggie fans could do from getting motion sickness.
There were plenty of positives to take from the season as a whole. The team competed in every game and it just felt like a much better product on the field, even with four losses. The offense and defense both had their struggles, but overall were much better than a season ago. Fisher turned Kellen Mond into a serviceable quarterback — no small feat after his freshman season.
Speaking of those four losses, while no one is confusing the 2018 Aggies with a team that deserved a shot in the playoff, but they were definitely better than their record indicates. At least better than a certain other school, whose fans love to point out the win-loss record between our two teams.
ESPN’s Football Power Index “measures a team’s true strength on net points scale; expected point margin vs average opponent on neutral field.” It’s a well-respected measure of how good a team truly is. Texas A&M finished the (almost) final rankings at No. 13.
Prior to the final National Championship game, the FPI had Alabama No. 1, Clemson No. 2, Mississippi State No. 8 and Auburn No. 12. These are the four teams the Aggies lost to. Three of the four games were on the road. It’s hardly a crime to lose to four teams ranked ahead of you, especially when two are the class of college football and the other two were Top 15 opponents on the road.
You can take it a step further with the S&P+ from Football Outsiders. Alabama and Clemson were No. 1 and 2, Mississippi State was No. 15 and Auburn No. 17, with the Aggies right there at No. 18.
Some other school finished No. 19 in the FPI and No. 30 in S&P+, but that’s none of my business. Play in any other conference and this is a 10-win team regular season team easy, especially if they played in the Big 12 or Pac 12.
The Aggies finished with the fourth hardest schedule in the country. No other team faced both Clemson and Bama. Jimbo Fisher went 9-4 with another coach’s players. It’s the start of something special and a season that finished with a full steam of momentum. Be proud, Aggies. This program is on the right track.
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.