re: until next year | 7-6

ESPN: Best and Worst Cases for Top 25 teams

Texas Aggies

Best case: New Year's Six Bowl game. Maybe Jimbo Fisher handing over the keys to the offense to Bobby Petrino really is the answer. Petrino's shown time and time again -- whether at Arkansas or Missouri State -- that he can score points. And with Conner Weigman at quarterback and a talented group of receivers (Ainias Smith, Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad III), the pieces to succeed are in place. What's more, the early part of the schedule is favorable with games against New Mexico, Miami, Louisiana Monroe and Auburn. Come out of that 4-0 and confident, and you get Arkansas and Alabama at home, which suddenly look like winnable games.

Worst case: A .500 season would be a disaster, but can we really rule it out after last year? There's no reason the Aggies should have lost to Appalachian State but they did. And for all the possibilities of Petrino calling plays, how sure are we that it will work? Fisher seems reluctant to completely step away from the offense, and you're talking about two big personalities between him and Petrino. We could see fireworks -- and not the good kind -- if Texas A&M starts off slow and Fisher feels the pressure of being on the hot seat. Lose at Miami and the chatter will ramp up quickly. Lose at home to a rebuilding Auburn team and it could become deafening. -- Scarborough