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'Critical Year' Ahead for Aggies, Jimbo Fisher

Being the last season of the current CFP format, the Aggies will be looking to make one final run at the top-four teams, and this year could be the best shot they have.

Matt Guzman

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Texas A&M Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher has been in College Station for five years. 

In those five seasons, the Aggies have gone a combined 39-21, having won every bowl game they've played in. It's not a bad look for the veteran coach, considering the Aggies' lack of success under Kevin Sumlin in the years leading to Fisher's hire. 

But while Texas A&M has improved in just about every way — on the field, recruiting, record — there is one thing missing: a CFP appearance. 

Back in 2020, the Aggies had their best shot at making the four-team playoff, but fell just short, as the committee gave the last spot to Notre Dame, which went on to lose in embarrassing fashion to the Crimson Tide. That year, the Aggies won the Orange Bowl and fittingly finished No. 4 in the end-of-year AP rankings.

Barring another meltdown from Fisher's squad, Texas A&M will have another chance at making the playoff this season. In fact, as CBS Sports put it, it could be the best chance they've had yet: 

"[This season] is a critical year for Aggies coach Jimbo Fisher," the site wrote. "His schedule has some tricky spots mixed in with some places to breathe. The stretch [against] Arkansas at a neutral site, [then against] Alabama at home [and] against Tennessee in a three-week span won't be fun, however, the non-conference Power Five matchup [against] Miami in Week 2 won't be as daunting as it was supposed to be." 

CBS ranked the Aggies' schedule next season the fourth-easiest, harder than only Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Georgia.  

"The Aggies only have three true SEC road games due to the Arkansas game counting as their fourth," CBS wrote. "That helps." 

Next season serves as the Aggies' last chance to make a run at the CFP before it expands. While the expansion will make it easier to make it, they'll have to deal with comments about how they only made it because of the expansion, so naturally, Fisher's squad wants to get a true one.

That will depend on how they come out of the gate. And if next season is as critical as it appears to be, Fisher will need to prove his squad can handle the added pressure. 

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Matt Guzman
MATT GUZMAN

Matt Guzman is a sports journalist and storyteller from Austin, Texas. He serves as a credentialed reporter and site manager for San Antonio Spurs On SI and a staff writer for multiple collegiate sites in the same network. In the world of professional sports, he is a firm believer that athletes are people, too, and intends to tell stories of players and teams’ true, behind-the-scenes character that otherwise would not be seen through strong narrative writing, hooking ledes and passionate words.

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