Why did CBS Sports call the Texas A&M Football team “overrated?”
A lot of things have been said about the Texas A&M Football team since the conclusion of the 2020-21 season but this one may be a first — at least for a large media outlet. In a CBS Sports article reacting to the most recent Coaches’ Poll, which came out earlier this week, Barrett Sallee referred to the Aggies as one of the most overrated teams in college football at the No. 6 spot.
Other overrated teams on the list included Notre Dame at No. 7 and LSU at No. 13. He did seem, however, most enthusiastic about calling A&M overrated. Here’s what he said.
"“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.”"
Barrett Sallee contradicted himself when he called the Texas A&M Football team “overrated”
As somebody who has made similar lists, it’s hard to knock Sallee for calling the Aggies overrated. Everybody has questioned whether or not Haynes King or Zach Calzada — whoever gets the job — will be able to fill in for Kellen Mond, who was one of the most reliable quarterbacks in the game for the past few years.
This is fair, though Sallee seems to overlook similar issues that the Georgia Bulldogs are experiencing when he refers to them as “underrated.” Here’s what he said about the Bulldogs.
"“It starts with quarterback JT Daniels, who now has a full year operating in Todd Monken’s offense after working through issues and not seeing the field until the final month of the season. The running back room is loaded, the wide receiving corps is versatile and dangerous, the offensive line is stacked with talent and we don’t have to worry about Georgia’s defense at all.”"
Specifically, the fact that he said “we don’t have to worry about Georgia’s defense at all” seems like a cop-out for the fact that the Bulldogs lost their two most important players in the secondary in Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes. If you believe that the Aggies’ offense will regress in 2021, you have to believe that Georgia’s defense will suffer in the same way.
As the cherry on top, Salle also mentioned the fact that the Bulldogs will break through the glass ceiling — the one that they’ve been struggling with for much longer than TAMU — in 2021. Here’s what he said.
"“Georgia hasn’t been able to break through that glass ceiling under Kirby Smart, but that should change this year as the Bulldogs are loaded from top to bottom.”"
In the end, Sallee’s logic isn’t terrible, it simply contradicts itself. If you believe one team cannot break through a glass ceiling due to replacements on offense, you have to believe that similar replacements on the defensive end for another team will prevent them from doing the same.
dark. Next. Why is Georgia ahead of A&M in the Coaches' Poll?
Both teams are extremely talented. We’ll be hoping that the Aggies do push through the glass ceiling that they’ve been given by the media.