Variations on a Theme

Fans of the t.v. show The Wire (best show EVER) may recall a scene from an early episode where the dialogue consisted of variations of the f-word.  That was it:  variations of the f-word, the entire scene.
So, that pretty much describes my reaction to the Aggie loss on Saturday.  Effing effed-up effity eff!

As feared, the defense wasn't up to the task and, give Alabama credit, its offense exploited our defensive weaknesses, at will.  Honestly, it was hard to watch.  PLEASE, SOMEONE, MAKE AN EFFING PLAY!

Lesson:  we simply CANNOT make any mistakes on offense.  Unfortunately, we made two on Saturday and those two were the difference in the game. We should have won that effing game (see what I mean....you just have to cuss it out).  I can't decide if the first int was JFF's fault or not.  Didn't look to me like the receiver made a very good effort, but the ball was overthrown.  Still not quite sure what happened on the second one, other than the fact that the defender made a tremendous play running it back.

Mike Evans was a STUD...love him and JFF was great but for...

Someone needs to beat Bama, which  is doable. But as Oxey says, if we can't play decent D, we don't deserve to be contending for the big prize.  We have SMU, Arkansas, and Ole Miss on the horizon.  We should beat SMU and Arkansas (I think....I don't know what the Hogs are up to this year).
Don't know much about Ole Miss but if the Rebels have any offense, we again will need to score LOTS of points.

Oh, well.  Still love the Ags, always will, remain proud of the no-quit effort, hopeful for the remainder of the season.  BUT....we should have won that effing game.  Effing gig em.

Veni, Vidi, Vici

The Aggies sure have been on a roll.  10-2 in their first season in the SEC, a win over the No. 1 team in the country (at the time), some just fearsome schoolboy commitments, a slew of coaching and player awards, culminating in JFF's Heisman win, unthinkable before the season started.  And now the other shoe has dropped:  offensive coordinator/quarterback coach, Kliff Kingsbury, has accepted the head coaching position at his alma mater, Texas Tech.

As soon as Tuberville walked out on the Red Radars, Oxey and I began discussing the possibility of losing Kingsbury.  We agreed that Tech needed to snag either a) a big name or b) a storied Tech alum in order to overcome Tech's inherent problems:  recruiting and location.  I was of the opinion that Kingsbury wouldn't want to leave A&M right now....with all of its promise for the next few years including (dare I say it?) contending for a national championship.  Oxey opined that Tech would want someone more seasoned and threw out Petrino's name.  (This was before he took the job at Western friggin-Kentucky, of all places).  Boy, were we wrong on all counts.  I guess KK wanted to be a head coach....like NOW!  Admittedly, I am not objective, but I don't think it is a good move.  But he didn't ask me.

So now Sumlin has to find someone else to run his sonic boom offense and, perhaps more importantly, guide JFF.  Will he find someone who played the position, like Kingsbury?  Who is out there? 

And speaking of the Heisman, I watched the telecast, which was excrutiating in the extreme until the very nanosecond that JFF's name was announced.  Johnny handled it well, I thought, and I was particularly moved by his mention of his deceased teammate and his thanks to the 12th man.  Then I watched a video of the reaction of the Aggies watching at the Clayton Williams center and teared up all over again. He deserved to win, and faithful, long-suffering Aggies everywhere may have deserved it as well.  Gig 'em.

PS:  to BBLjr, Oxey, and Ohfor----I imagine Zippy is drinking a cup of beer in heaven right about now.

Can I Get An Amen?

JFF is supposed to have a press conference this week and I am nervous.  What if he talks like Jar Jar Binks?

Enjoyed the Mizzou game immensely.  I thought it was a nice gesture to feature C. Mike on the first play (and in the first quarter in general.)  He did not disappoint.  Other seniors performed well, too.  I got the feeling that they were on a mission. 



The television color guy kept going on and on about the game being over, why was JFF still in...blah, blah, blah.... WHILE MIZZOU CONTINUED TO SCORE.  And, this was in the first half!  It is possible to lose the lead, dude, even a big one.  We should know, since we have done it frequently.  We have to score early and often because our very thin defense breaks down a bit in the second half.

Would JFF winning the Heisman be a good thing?  Could it add so much pressure and raise expectations for next year so high that the team (and JFF) simply can't handle it?  Perhaps, but I think we are there already in terms of expectations and pressure.  I don't think winning the Heisman would change that at all.  And of course, I think he should win it. GO JFF!



Many around here think that the Aggies will play the Horns in the Cotton Bowl, and many think that would be great.  Why?  The Horns aren't very good so I imagine that the Aggies would be expected to win.  So, a win would be no big deal, because we should win.  But what if we lose?  I might just die.  Is chronic fear of losing to UT a treatable condition?



What a great season this has been!  Thanks to those wonderful, hardworking boys and the coaches for so many hours of joy.  Gig 'em.

Ebb Tide

The Aggies beat Alabama. 



Props to the defense that came through when it had to, to the O-line, to Ryan Swope for taking the hits and holding on to the ball, to Malena, Michael, and Evans.....

And what can I say about JFF that hasn't been said?  More than his athleticism and his competitive spirit, I am impressed by his presence on the field.  The guy seems impervious to nerves, to jitters, to fear, to mistakes, to hits, to noise......He is just so fun to watch.



Now, the Aggies need to moidleize Sam Houston and then take care of Missouri.  I heard this morning that the Ags have jumped to number 8 in the polls.  If they can win out, then they likely will go to a good bowl game.  Whoda thunk it.

BTHOO Alabama!

In 1968, my dad took me to the Cotton Bowl to see A&M play Alabama.  Gene Stallings, a Bama alum coached by Bear Bryant, was coaching A&M and Bryant, whom I detested, was with Bama.  Kenny Stabler was Bama's QB and, of course, went on to have a tremendous career in the pros.

Here is a little clip from that game.  The Tide was 8-1-1 coming into the game, the Aggies 6-4.  Edd Hargett QB'd the Aggies and was the MVP.  Ags won, 20-16.

I remember little about the game other than the fact that we weren't expected to win but did, and that at the end of the game, Bryant embraced Stallings at midfield.  Most importantly, I remember being there with my dad.  That was a good, good day.

I'm Too Old Tor This ....

Last week, 6 turnovers.  This week, 19 penalties.  And yet, victory.  JFF and the Aggies continue to elevate the heartrate.  By the way, La Tech's Patton sure is good. 

Now the fun begins.  LSU managed to beat South Carolina on Saturday, which may be a good thing.  Or not.  The Tigers' offense is still iffy, but their defense is stout....big, fast, and physical.  JFF is going to have to protect himself from punishing hits and the O-line will be tested in a new way.  The Aggies can't have the turnovers and the penalties against LSU but they will need some JFF magic.  Good thing that this is a home game.  Gig 'em.

Goodness Gracious Sakes Alive!

When, in the history of EVER, has A&M won a game like Saturday's game against Ole Miss?  JFF finally made those freshman mistakes that we all have been waiting for....ill-concieved desperation throws and  a scrumble ( a fumble while scrambling).   And yet.... the non-safety, the throw to Evans, the perfect throw to Swope, the touchdown run.  Wow!  NO! NO! NO!...YES! YES! YES!  We may not win them all, but we are in for some fun times.

And let's not fail to give credit to Malena, Swope (who somewhat redeemed himself by catching that perfectly thrown ball in the endzone) and my new favorite, Mike Evans.  That catch on 3rd and 18 from the 4 was clutch and spectacular. When is the last time we saw an Aggie receiver make that kind of catch?  And, he is a freshman.  Thank you, sweet baby Jesus.




As for the defense, I still have my concerns but given the fact that our offense gave the ball to Ole Miss 6 times, the defense played pretty well.  Two ints, one for a TD, and one to stop Ole Miss' final drive, and a BIG stop on 4th and inches to give us the ball and that last chance to score.  Thanks, too, to Ole Miss' Coach for that bonehead call.  Appreciate it, dude.

Ahead we have La Tech, which now looks tougher than I expected then LSU at home....maybe not as tough as I expected but even though LSU has no offense, it has an intimidating defense, including the brilliantly named BARKEVIOUS LEVON MINGO.  I kid you not. Then the fun begins with away games at Auburn (maybe), Mississippi State (maybe), and Alabama (no way in hell).  Prediction:  we win 2 of the next 5, putting us at 6-4 after the Bama game.

Hope Flickers

This morning I received this email from an old college friend, who is a  knowledgeable sports guy:

Ole Miss represents a real swing game for the Aggies. They are a solid but not great team and the kind of opponent you need to beat to reach the top tier. Louisiana Tech looks to be even tougher the following week.


Suddenly all the remaining games look winnable (except @Alabama).



I’ll say A&M 31-20 this weekend.


I, too, think A&M will prevail this week and I agree that we have no chance against Bama.  However, I  don't give us a chance against LSU either.  Those LSU guys are total wild-asses but they are bigger and badder than the Aggies and will wear us out.  As for other games, I now think that Auburn is beatable, which I didn't think prior to the start of the season.  I picked us to go 6-6, but I think there is a glimmer of a spark of a hope of a chance that we might finish better than that.  Gig 'em.

Aggies Slop the Hogs

Saturday was a good day.  My two best buds were in town;  we went to the Fair, ate gobs of food,  visited for hours.  Just a wonderful day.  Oh, did I mention that the Aggies creamed the Hogs?  It was fun to watch...JFF is one reckless, wild-ass dude....And while I understand that certain defensive packages were in play because of the score, I remain concerned about the defense and its ability to withstand the LSU and Bama offienses.  Until then, however, I will just revel in it.  (Will be interesting to see if C.Mike can fight his way back into to Sumlin's good graces.)

No QB Controversy at A&M

Surely after his performance against SCState, JFF has put to rest any thought that Showers should be the starting QB.  Does JFF still have a few things to learn?  Of course he does....he is a friggin redshirt freshman who now has played in 3 games.  BUT, if he can stay healthy and learn (he does have a kinda scary "I don't give a rat's ass what you think" look about him), he could be great.  As for our SEC competition, we are going to need a more consistent running game or else Manziel will just get crushed.  As for defense, I am loving Damontre Moore.  Up next:  Arkansas.  Maybe we can beat them this year.

Preseason NCAA Coaches Poll

NCAA College Football Coaches Poll

 go to the link above and check out #9

Oh and  #24

She Started It

Let this dude go.  http://bleacherreport.com/tb/b3FKv

Can I get an Amen!

Thanks to The Bleacher Report for this niblet:


Christian Lemay (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) of Matthews, N.C., made some adjustments to his top 10, switching out three schools from his original list. According to his father, Lemay dropped Oklahoma, Mississippi State and Florida State and replaced them with Auburn, Texas A&M and Notre Dame. The rest of his favorites are Clemson, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Virginia Tech, Miami and North Carolina.

Lemay has been to Clemson and Georgia for junior days. His father said they will get to Clemson, Georgia and Auburn for spring games, and they want to visit Texas A&M before they cut their list to five in July. Lemay also will name a leader in July. He will take his five official visits this fall before making a decision.

Apparently, this guy is one of the most highly recruited QBs in the country.

The Return (hopefully) of the Wrecking Crew

Mike Sherman is busy trying to find a replacement for Joe Kines, defensive coordinator.  My sources (Cousin John) tell me that the Air Force guy is the leading candidate.

This Is What College Football Is About

University of Texas --49, Texas A&M University--39.

Goshdarnit, that was a gut-bustin, rip-snortin, sidewinder of a game. Most points scored ever in this matchup. A kickoff return and a missed field goal popped the Aggies' balloon and sure, I wish the Aggies had won, but even so it was a great game.  I am so, so proud of those guys.  But let's give Texas its due.  The Horns generally and McCoy in particular rose up and showed why Texas is No. 3 in the country.  They made only one error (lost a punt) and didn't lose their cool.  Congrats to sbaskind and all Horns fans.  Take care of the Huskers and you'll be playing for the National Championship.

As for the Ags, they should be confident going into whatever bowl game they draw.  Also, playing well on ESPN on Thanksgiving against the No. 3 team should help recruiting (wishful thinking, much?).  Final word:  Jerrod Johnson played lights out last night.  I hope someone out there saw how good this guy is.

For game stats, which are stunning, go here.

embarrased

I did not see the game. I just now ( 11:30pm) saw the score.  Somebody should resign and some of them apparently should be players.  C'mon Coach, tell me how they never quit. Why can't offensive coaches hire some one to run an actual defense. That one game wipes out all the good some of their other games did for potential recruits.
how do you sell a kid on playing at A&M now? " we were one of the highest scoring teams in the nation son, except against Oklahoma when we rolled over and peed ourselves like the  french infantry.

Fruit Basket Turnover

Texas Tech whupped K State, K State whupped Texas A&M, and then...surprise, surprise...Texas A&M whupped Texas Tech.  This reminds of last year's Texas-OU-Tech dilemma, only with K State, Tech, and A&M, the national title isn't on the line (drat it).  Actually, I care about none of that.  I simply am filled with the most wonderful feeling of glee.  The Aggies haven't beaten Tech in some time and after being thoroughly thrashed by Arkansas and embarassed by K State, the Aggies came back and managed to win.  The Aggies, bless em, can score if not facing a good defense, it seems.  So now we face Iowa State (who surprisingly beat Nebraska this week), Baylor, Colorado, OU, and Texas.  Yikes.  Best case: wins over Iowa State, Baylor and Colorado;  absolute destruction by OU and Texas.  Worst case:  absolute destruction.  Whatever happens, I am proud of them for not quitting, for continuing to fight.  Gig em.

Where the hell are we recruiting?

I am glad to see the Ags won. Especially against a team that has lost its last 8 road games, but, our star is Uzoma Nwachukwu?

Hurts So Good

I was just adding Aggie games to my calendar when I noticed that the Ags are playing the Horns on Thanksgiving Day...the actual day...just like when we were kids. Cool. Then I noticed this: the game is at 7:00 p.m. (and will be televised). How am I supposed to make it to 7:00 p.m. without combusting from nerves, anxiety, and antici...pation? I will no doubt watch the Cowboy game and go straight to the Aggie game. This is setting up to be one of those pleasure/pain, hurts-so-good type of deals. No doubt vast quantities of alcohol will help me get through it...beer me, early and often.

Agony of Defeat

Jen and I were in DC last week for a show. We were staying in the Suburbs because driving and parking our giant white panel van around town did not seem like a good idea. (I wanted to put a turban on and drive by the White House honking, Jen said no). Anyway we had to take the subway to get downtown and see the sights. We had dinner and took the train home. The train was packed with Washington Capitol fans returning from game 7 against the Penguins. It had been a great series with several overtime games and arguably the 2 best players in hockey. The Penguins killed them getting out to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd period. You have never seen such an angry, disconsolate group of people (outside of Kyle field) in your life. They were all in bright red Caps jerseys and hats. They were griping, moaning and cussing. I know how they felt.

Baltimore beating the Cowboys in the Superbowl. We were jobbed.
Texas beating the then #2 Ags in '75, getting a 17 point lead in 90 seconds. I am still PO'ed.
Plano beating Highland Park by 1 point in '78, when the Scotts had a 28 pt halftime lead. Plano went on to win the State championship. Bastards.
F***ing 49ers and Dwight F***ing Clark and Joe F***ing Montana in 1979. Danny White still almost won that game.
Romo fumbling the snap for a game winning chip shot field goal against Seattle. Dummy.

I had better stop. I am getting worked up. I know exactly how the poor Capitols fans feel.
I root for the Cowboys, Aggies, Rangers, and Mavericks.