If you tell a Texas A&M fans that a media figure has taken an unnecessary pot shot at them and ask them to guess who, it won't take long for them to get to Joel Klatt. The former Colorado quarterback turned Fox Sports analyst and general media personality, though he loves Mike Elko, loves to do whatever he can to get the goat of Aggie fans— and sometimes he hits where it hurts.
Other times, though, he simply stretches way too far to try to get in a shot at the Aggies. This is what was on display in a quote of his that got some attention yesterday, when he, while discussing expectations at Auburn, tried to shoehorn in a statement about Texas A&M.
"Auburn reminds me a lot of Texas A&M in that there's not a ton of consistency, but the expectations are always that they're going to be great... They're a popcorn program just like A&M. They're an average program that pops up every once in a while." - @joelklatt pic.twitter.com/df4OMnLOtC
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) August 31, 2026
Unfortunately for Klatt here, no matter how much he feels like this statement is consonant with his vibes about each program, the data is not on his side in this one. A bit of critical thought— or even cursory research— shows that he simply does not know what he's talking about in this instance, and it comes off as though he's not quite familiar with the situation.
Joel Klatt's attempted dunk on the Aggies gets rejected by the rim
Klatt compares Auburn to Texas A&M by saying both programs have fanbases that expect to be great despite inconsistent results. Far from having a finger on the pulse of Texas A&M's fanbase, this is actually entirely backwards of the analysis of most Aggie fans.
What A&M fans expect is that the right coach with the resources available to him at Texas A&M should be able to correctly leverage them to recruit and develop at a high level— and that those results would begin to show up on the field. If they do not, then a part of that process is broken, and it needs to get fixed.
In other words, Texas A&M fans believe that they have institutional alignment aimed at the excellence of the football program, so if the coach fails to capitalize on that, then a new coach should be brought in. That's what we saw out of both Sumlin and Fisher. The resources and alignment were enough to get A&M to the "good, not great" level with consistency.
At Auburn, they simply have been consistently pretty bad since getting rid of Gus Malzahn. There have been wild swings of greatness that have not been replicable, but outside of those, they've been a team that struggles to get to a bowl game over the last number of years.
That's not the case with A&M— they're operating on a higher level. Since the Aggies joined the SEC, they have had 7 or more losses only once— and Auburn has had six such seasons in that time. Similarly, A&M has had three seasons with 2 or fewer losses in that time, and Auburn has only had one.
Auburn has a level of commitment to football that trumps most schools in the country— but not A&M. Their booster culture is another discussion entirely. Klatt's attempt to compare them to A&M in this regard is simply unfounded— and it makes him look just a little bit out of touch.
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