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ESPN has Texas A&M ranked #1
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:20 am
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:20 am
For their list of underachievers
ESPN-Ranking college football's biggest underachievers
quote:
Retaining the No. 1 spot in college football is normally a great thing. Not in these rankings. And not for Texas A&M.
quote:
No team ever wants to be No. 1 in college football's underachiever tiers, the annual preseason exercise examining the programs that do the least with the most. Keeping the top spot is especially painful, but it has happened with the Aggies. Georgia was the inspiration for the initial rankings. Coach Kirby Smart's team proceeded to win it all in 2021 and repeated last year, cementing itself as college football's preeminent program. Texas A&M's placement atop last year's rankings came with the caveat: Look at Georgia! Just be like Georgia! The Aggies had signed the nation's No. 1 recruiting class, headlined by four defensive line recruits rated in ESPN's top 7 nationally, several standout perimeter players and Conner Weigman, ESPN's No. 27 overall prospect. Coach Jimbo Fisher had enough to challenge in the SEC West and build on an 8-4 season. Instead, the Aggies regressed and went 5-7, logging their first losing record since 2008 and Fisher's first full losing season as a head coach (he left 5-6 Florida State for Texas A&M in 2017 and the Seminoles went on to finish 7-6). There's no choice but to leave Texas A&M right at the top. The list includes other repeat selections, as certain programs, despite clear advantages, continue to spin their wheels or backslide. The objective is to identify programs that aren't capitalizing on long-term edges such as history, location, fan/booster base and financial resources, and new ones such as NIL clout and media rights revenue. Much like the first two versions, I've divided teams into six different tiers. Unlike Georgia and Texas A&M, not every team that appears is a realistic national championship contender. Some shouldn't expect to be in the conference title mix very often. But all should be expecting and achieving more. To maintain consistency, teams are evaluated primarily on the past 20 seasons (2003 to 2022) with extra emphasis on the last 5 to 7. Teams that have made the College Football Playoff are exempt -- TCU wouldn't appear anyway, but the Horned Frogs are officially clear -- as are national champions from the past 15 seasons (2008 to 2022).
ESPN-Ranking college football's biggest underachievers
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:26 am to Ping Pong
They’re not wrong.
And it’s frustrating af.
And it’s frustrating af.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:26 am to Ping Pong
“But but we have money”.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:26 am to Ping Pong
But they made LSU's asses quit! Well until they played their next two games
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:27 am to Ping Pong
But they beat LSU in the regular season
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:30 am to Ping Pong
I don't see where the list is wrong. A tough look for an otherwise outstanding university.
WHoop from 30A!
WHoop from 30A!
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:32 am to Ping Pong
quote:
ESPN has Texas A&M ranked #1
For their list of underachievers
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:49 am to Arkapigdiesel
The bud light lime thing is hilarious.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:54 am to Ping Pong
There isn’t a single honest Aggie that would argue with that.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 10:58 am to Ping Pong
quote:
Unlike Georgia and Texas A&M, not every team that appears is a realistic national championship contender
he just called A&M title contenders
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:08 am to Ping Pong
quote:You know it's a bad look if they're having to use "A&M-like" to describe something that everyone agrees was a bad decision and an embarrassment of a situation
Fisher might have been fired if not for a very A&M-like contract that makes a change financially prohibitive for the immediate future
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:23 am to Ping Pong
Texas just happy it wasn't them. No matter how many lists or polls, Texas is the queen of disappointment.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:33 am to ReversePiggie
If this was underachieve relative fan expectations, I agree.
In the real world though, we are in the same division as Alabama and LSU. Saying by not winning the SEC or more means the baseline is better than both and I don’t agree with that and haven’t even brought up comparisons to Florida/Georgia etc. A&M still battling to be mid tier in SEC. 5-7 last year was underachieving by 2-3 wins. Hardly deserves tier all alone status.
#1 should be a team that consistently outrecruits immediate competition, has better history and more resources and yet isn’t accomplishing anything
In the real world though, we are in the same division as Alabama and LSU. Saying by not winning the SEC or more means the baseline is better than both and I don’t agree with that and haven’t even brought up comparisons to Florida/Georgia etc. A&M still battling to be mid tier in SEC. 5-7 last year was underachieving by 2-3 wins. Hardly deserves tier all alone status.
#1 should be a team that consistently outrecruits immediate competition, has better history and more resources and yet isn’t accomplishing anything
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:37 am to Matts El Rancho
quote:
You know it's a bad look if they're having to use "A&M-like" to describe something that everyone agrees was a bad decision and an embarrassment of a situation
Texas is #3 big guy.
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:37 am to Ping Pong
They finally won something!
Posted on 8/7/23 at 11:39 am to Ping Pong
Hell yeah.
Everyone who said that A&M would never be #1 can go eat crow.
Everyone who said that A&M would never be #1 can go eat crow.
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