With the 2023 college football season just around the corner, Texas A&M is getting a stamp of approval for what could very well be a rebound campaign in the fall.
Brad Crawford of 247Sports predicts that the Aggies will go 6-0 through the first half of their regular season schedule before falling on the road to Tennessee. Texas A&M’s next loss would come two games later at Ole Miss, and their final loss of the year would come in the season finale at LSU.
He foresees the Aggies winning the Southwest Classic against Arkansas and following that up with a big win over Alabama on Oct. 7 at Kyle Field. Crawford also made an emphatic statement that the Jimbo Fisher coaching seat, which has been undeniably warm throughout the offseason, will eventually cool off once the Maroon and White put a bow on their 2023 campaign:
“Fisher is on one of college football’s hottest seats, but that’s going to simmer after a nationally-ranked finish this fall.”
That would put Texas A&M at 9-3 (5-3 SEC) for the 2023 season, and good for third in the SEC West behind Alabama and LSU, with identical 10-2 records. The finish would mark their first nine-win campaign since the 2020 shortened season, and if the Aggies do end up nationally ranked, it’s safe to say that a bowl game appearance would also be in the cards.
What will every SEC team's final record be? 🏈
Here's what @BCrawford247 came up with ✍️https://t.co/3UqOtorUyj pic.twitter.com/ZtP2hHnVfs
— 247Sports (@247Sports) August 15, 2023
After being ranked in both the USA TODAY Sports Coaches preseason poll and the AP Top 25 preseason poll, it’s clear that the larger college football landscape still has confidence in what Fisher and the Aggies have been building in College Station. Success ultimately hinges on the offense taking a big leap with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino, and while it is a big “if,” that reality is very much within grasp so long as the pieces fit together.
Tennessee (No. 12), Ole Miss (No. 22), and LSU (No. 5), who are all ranked in the AP preseason Top 25 and whose matchups all take place on the road, will be no pushovers. But it’s key to remember that the Rebels fended off the Aggies by just a field goal last season, and of course, we all remember last year’s finale in which Texas A&M upset the Tigers to knock them out of the College Football Playoff contention.
A 9-3 record prediction is great to take in, but at the end of the day, this football team has to back up that confidence with their play on the field. As Fisher aptly noted earlier this week, the task ahead is simple, “Go play our game, take care of business.”
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