Texas A&M Football: Post-Week 1 edition of Tired vs. Wired

TAKE: Texas A&M is the 10th Best Team in the SEC

I think everyone reading this can probably anticipate what I’ll rate this one.  It’s pretty clear this was done to stir up some people, Aggies chief among them. However, SEC Mike has been trying to defend this take as though it is the really rational way to look at things and everyone who disagrees is biased/influenced by preseason rankings.  According to him, he really thinks that the AP No. 6 Aggies are the 10th best team in their conference.

Putting aside the question of whether these rankings are actually “based on what we’ve actually seen from the field” (is beating up on Utah State really that much more impressive than beating #7 Utah at home? The size of a blowout reaches a point of diminishing returns eventually), I have a bone to pick with his takeaway from this game.

The Aggies did not struggle with Sam Houston. They weren’t blowing them out, but any informed observer of the game could see that the Bearkats were overmatched and never threatened the Aggies.

This isn’t just a subjective observation, either. The Aggies outgained the Bearkats by almost 300 yards on only 63 plays. The A&M defense stonewalled the run such that the majority of SHSU’s rushing came on QB scrambles and created havoc on almost every down. They didn’t allow a completion of over 17 yards, leaving Sam Houston with only 91 yards passing.

SP+, my personal favorite as far as advanced statistical profiles, saw the Aggies jump in the rankings from 8th to 5th, their rating (the amount of points they would beat the hypothetical exactly-average FBS team by) increasing from a 19.5 to a 24.1. Here’s what Bill Connelly, the mind behind SP+, had to say about the Aggies’ jump:

"A&M might be the most surprising of that bunch, considering they only beat FCS’ Sam Houston, 31-0. But they more than doubled SHSU in terms of yards per play (7.4 to 3.6), they dominated on both ends in the red zone, and their explosiveness measures were off the charts. Offensive efficiency is a concern, but everything else looked rock solid."

He also remarked that the Aggies were one of the five top-10 teams that “completely looked the part” – the others struggling and slipping.  This is clearly completely at odds with what Bratton is asserting with his rankings and further defense; SP+ is an opponent-adjusted ranking, so it accounts for the strength (or lack thereof) of the team you’re playing, yet the Aggies still rank highly after their performance. Not only that, but they were one of the biggest risers in the rankings, meaning that they were actually one of the best-performing teams of Week 1!

Given all this evidence, it is no surprise that I have to rate this take as TIRED.  Sorry, SEC Mike.  That’s just the way it has to be.  I’m sure you’re heartbroken.