With no shortage of talent throughout the roster it’s not a stretch to say that a winning record is the expectation for Texas A&M in 2023. A bowl game appearance feels in order as well, and one outlet is already predicting the Aggies’ future opponent.
According to The Sporting News‘ annual preseason bowl projections, Texas A&M is forecasted to face Minnesota in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl on December 30. The post-season bowl game has been played in Nashville since 1998, and following tie-ins with the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, the matchup has exclusively featured a showdown between the Big Ten and SEC since 2020.
The Gophers are coming off a 9-4 season (5-4 Big Ten) under P.J. Fleck, a campaign in which they ranked fourth in the country in defensive scoring (13.8 ppg allowed). Minnesota is coming off its second consecutive bowl game appearance, a 28-20 win over Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The Aggies are looking to compile a bounce-back campaign following their 5-7 finish (2-6 SEC) last season, which marked the first losing season under Jimbo Fisher since he arrived in College Station. Texas A&M did not go bowling for the second consecutive season after reaching three straight bowl games in Fisher’s first three seasons with the Aggies.
The Maroon and White’s last bowl game appearance came in the 2020 Orange Bowl, a 41-27 win over North Carolina in which Aggies running back Devon Achane tallied 12 carries for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
Truth be told a bowl game appearance, coupled with a winning record, should be the standard barometer of success for an Aggies roster that is packed with four and five-star talent. Tough matchups like LSU on the road and Alabama (at Kyle Field) highlight this season’s schedule, but Texas A&M’s roster construction has the makings of being a dark-horse contender in the SEC this year.
So while outlets agree that the Aggies should be set for a bowl game return this year, it’s not far-fetched to hope for a potential New Year’s Day Six berth so long as the pieces fit this coming season.
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