Ranking Every Texas A&M Football Season in the SEC: #1 - 2012
Could it have been any other?
I don't think any Texas A&M football fan could have dreamed as good of an entrance into the SEC as what the Aggies ended up having. Though they lost their first game to an extremely talented Florida squad, Texas A&M football began to absolutely tear teams up from that point on.
This was the first season at quarterback for Johnny Manziel. By the time the season ended, he was the first-ever freshman to win the Heisman trophy (triumphing over new Aggie OC Collin Klein, who was the Kansas State QB at the time).
Said Heisman was clinched by Johnny leading the Aggies to an extremely improbable victory over Alabama in Tuscaloosa in early November. If not for a three point loss to the Gators or a five point loss to LSU, the Aggies would have been in the SEC championship, and possibly the national championship—I'm willing to say "probably," given how that team was rolling.
Of course, if they had made it to the national championship against Notre Dame... well. I think we all know how that would have gone.
Their actual postseason opponent was the Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners. OU, seeking to put the Aggies back in their place after an upstart season in a new conference, was instead embarrassed, 41-13. It was almost poetic.
It's bittersweet that the Aggies have yet to return to that high of the first season they were a part of the conference. I know they'll be back soon—I have faith in Elko and the staff and team he is putting together. Save a conference championship, though, it'll be tough to top 2012.