The Texas A&M Football program was solid but struggled to take the next step before Jimbo Fisher arrived. Since Fisher’s arrival, they’ve been a force to reckon with in the SEC, becoming one of the better teams in the conference.
Fisher has lived up to the hype thus far, going 26-10 in his first three seasons. Hopefully, we’ll get a glimpse of how well he can do during a normal year in 2021, with his best season currently coming during a COVID-riddled year.
Let’s look back on some of Jimbo Fisher’s best wins thus far in his 3-year career with the Texas A&M Football team.
No. 5: Jimbo Fisher led the Texas A&M Football team to a bowl win in his first season
The first game listed won’t seem very significant when you look at the opponent. That said, Texas A&M’s victory over NC State in the Gator Bowl proved that Jimbo Fisher had arrived.
That said, general spectators likely didn’t enjoy watching this game, as the Aggies completely obliterated the Wolfpack. The game looked like men against boys, as Texas A&M would win by a margin of victory of 39 points, one of the highest of that bowl season.
Kellen Mond was still a young quarterback and didn’t play particularly well. The primary offensive production in this game would come from runningback Trayveon Williams, who accumulated 263 yards and a trio of touchdowns on just 19 carries.
With this win, the Aggies put college football on notice.
No. 4: The Texas A&M Football team defeated No. 13 UNC in the Orange Bowl
It almost feels wrong to put this win at number four on this list, so allow me to tell you why this win isn’t higher.
For starters, the Aggies should have won this game. After being snubbed from the College Football Playoff, they were left with a bowl game that didn’t have the same meaning as a semifinal game would have. That said, they made sure it was clear that they should have been selected.
The game was close the entire way through, but Texas A&M put its stamp on the 2020-21 Orange Bowl by closing out the game in convincing fashion. Kellen Mond did what Kellen Mond does, throwing for a quiet 232 yards, while the run game took care of everything else.
Most notably, this game saw Devon Achane break out as one of the most electric backs in the conference. The young runningback would account for 140 yards in the game on just 12 carries, reaching the endzone twice in the process. In the end, the Aggies would get the win.
If this was a list of the most entertaining games in the Jimbo Fisher era, this one would be right near the top. But for now, it’ll have to leave room for the games ahead that hold a high level of importance in Fisher’s tenure thus far.
No. 3: The Texas A&M Football team beats No. 13 Kentucky in Jimbo Fisher’s first year
In Jimbo Fisher’s first year, it was unclear what type of coach he would be for the Aggies. He had won a national championship at Florida State, but his tenure came to a slow, painful halt when he couldn’t reach that level of prominence again.
Fisher would have a brutal schedule to begin his career and took two ugly losses against No. 2 Clemson and No. 1 Alabama to begin his tenure with the Aggies. Despite some strong wins, he didn’t have a really good victory to this point in his career.
That would change when the Aggies faced No. 13 Kentucky in Fisher’s sixth game as head coach.
The Aggies came into the game as an underdog. While they had beaten lesser teams, they had also struggled against Clemson and Alabama, the top two teams in the country at the time. They had a lot to prove in this one against the undefeated Wildcats.
And that’s exactly what they would do.
The game was close all the way through. The Aggies and Wildcats would find themselves in overtime, where TAMU would eventually pull out the victory in a lively Kyle Field in College Station. It was the first signature win of the Jimbo Fisher and a sign that this team could compete with anybody.
Kellen Mond had a strong game, but this one would be highlighted by Trayveon Williams once again. The runningback accounted for over 200 yards from scrimmage, scoring the game-winning touchdown in overtime.
No. 2: Texas A&M Football makes a statement in the SEC with a win over No. 4 Florida
It’s hard putting a win over the 4th-ranked team in the country at the two-spot on this list. That said, Florida didn’t end up having the season that many experts anticipated, so their ranking was a little bit inflated at the time.
That said, those facts didn’t make this any less of a strong win at the time.
The Texas A&M Football team started out 2020 on a sour note, barely slipping by Vanderbilt and taking a blowout loss against Alabama in week 2. It looked like a repeat of the past couple seasons, and with No. 4 Florida on the docket for the next week, the Aggies looked… for lack of a better term, screwed.
That said, Jimbo Fisher didn’t see it the same way.
He would rally his team to a convincing victory over the Florida Gators, earning his first top-5 win of his tenure in College Station. The game was close the entire way through, but the Aggies outplayed Florida from start to finish.
Kellen Mond would pass for 338 yards and 3 touchdowns, outplaying his opponent Kyle Trask in an offensive shootout. He would be complimented by Isaiah Spiller in the backfield, who accounted for nearly 200 total yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The key receiver in this game was Caleb Chapman, who would show up with 9 receptions for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Unfortunately, he would go down with an injury late in the game on a long touchdown catch.
The Aggies would get the win, 41-38.
No. 1: Texas A&M Football team beat No. 7 LSU in the highest-scoring game in FBS history
There are few words that can be said to encompass the madness that came along with Texas A&M’s win against the No. 7 LSU Tigers led by Joe Burrow in 2018. It was one of the most bizarre games in the history of college football with almost no defense at all.
It was, in all respects, one of the most memorable college football games in the history of the sport. The two teams would account for a total of 176 points, making this the highest-scoring college football game in FBS history.
Oddly enough, this game was tied at 31-31 at the end of regulation. But the teams were unstoppable in overtime and the score got out of hand for over an hour after the originally scheduled finish to the game.
After a failed 2-point conversion for LSU, Texas A&M would get an opportunity to convert. They would do so, winning the game in septuple overtime. Yes, that’s a real word.
There were plenty of key performers, but Kellen Mond stole the show, passing for 287 yards and 6 touchdowns, with another trip to the endzone on the ground. This is one of the best wins in the history of the program and was one of the most exciting games in the history of college football.