Texas A&M Football: Dream Non-Conference Matchups

Texas A&M football vs. Florida State

This one was really too easy. Think of the storylines! Even though it was only six years ago, it’s all too easy to forget the circumstances surrounding Jimbo Fisher’s departure from Florida State. It was a place that, if he had had his druthers, he would have retired. He was close with the late Bobby Bowden, with the legendary coach acting as his mentor for many years.

Of course, the relationship soured, as documented in this 2020 article from ESPN. That led to several years of irrelevance for the Seminoles, as the hire of Willie Taggart failed to make anything better. Mike Norvell appeared at first to be a similar misstep by FSU administration, but this past year saw the Seminoles jump back into the national spotlight. They racked up a marquee win over LSU in the first game of the year and are slated for a big year behind returning QB Jordan Travis. The FSU faithful are hoping that Norvell can ride what seems to be a winning transfer portal strategy back to yearly championship contention. That Clemson has faltered in recent years serves to bolster this hope.

This matchup would be big time box-office. The storylines of Jimbo squaring off against his former employer and the Seminole program getting a shot at the man that, whether right or not, many fans feel is responsible for the program’s recent malaise is too good to pass up. Each squad is back in national relevance again and look to be so for years to come. Maybe it would be hard to swing on the administrative side of things, but this seems like a natural win for both schools—improved visibility in Texas would benefit FSU, and improved visibility in Florida would benefit Texas A&M.